Ubiquitous
by Porginess
Summary: AN ULTIMATUM IS JUST THE BEGINNING. Forced out the life she knows, Caroline receives help from unexpected allies. Drawn into the depths of Klaus' world, Caroline's life spirals into secrets, truths and danger as she encounters a shocking, irreversible transformation. But where romance and trust is kindled, danger and betrayal lurks in the shadows...[The Originals - No Klayley Baby]
1. Reckoning

**A/N:** Hi everyone! Okay - so to all of my _Bones_ readers who don't like _TVD_ - don't read, and don't worry,_ The Matter to the Bones_ will be updated in the next day or so! To all newbies? I've never written [let alone posted] a Vampire Diaries FanFic before, but seeing as I have to do without the show for the whole Summer holidays, and I've had this idea stuck in my head since I saw the episode, it was kind of a #YOLO moment ;) Happy Reading!**  
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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, nor any of its characters/names/places_. They belong to WB Television, The CW, respective creative minds - L. , Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. The rest belongs to and is copyrighted to me. I write for my own pleasure and enjoyment, not for monetary gain. Copyright © 2012/2013 GM _  
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**Ubiquitous**

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**I. Reckoning**

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_"There is a time of reckoning in all our lives."  
_Lorna Luft

For that split second, her life was in his hands. He held it, beneath the surface of that fountain. The remorse for taking yet another life, knifed dully at his heart - in the place where his father's sword had been driven through a thousand years ago. It had become mechanical; ripping away people's lives as if he were swatting one of millions of flies.

Sometimes, he revolted against the monster he was - other times, he relished in it. His fury and impulsiveness had subsequently resulted in him killing another - again - and, in the beginning - when he had taken his first innocent life, the guilt of such an ordeal had plagued him. Now, though he felt stab of contrition for every kill, he had become immune to its pain; the knife that pierced his heart was no more than a dull blade. He did not feel what should have pained him. Swords were supposed to inflict a fatal wound, and then cripple their victims. But a wound that once would have drained him of blood, now mutilated his humanity.

And, amidst it all, as he left Carol Lockwood's lifeless body to wither in the waters of the town-square fountain, amidst the dull pain that desperately fought it's way to his conscience - all he could think about was _her_.

The empty streets of Mystic Falls offered to no solace to the new burden of remorse he felt. Perhaps, a small part of him regretted taking the life of Carol - but not because he had hurt Tyler _(which is what his sole intention had been)_; because he knew that in killing this woman, he would be exposing Caroline to sorrow.

And Klaus hated hurting her. For the first time since Tatia, he genuinely felt for someone outside his family - of the female gender. For what ever short time, he had had Stefan for a friend - but nothing equaled the companionship of a woman.

And this woman bedazzled him. Caught him completely off guard.

She hadn't_ fallen_ for him; as numerous others over the centuries had tried to. He - a man who enjoyed the thrill of the chase - had originally been drawn to her because he couldn't have her.

Or her _light_.

Caroline was full of light.

He was in the woods within moments, and when arrived at the place of his old home - where he often came, on nights where sleep - or peace of mind - evaded him. Falling back against the cushion of dead pine needles on the forest floor, he allowed the biting cold to engulf him.

He had just slaughtered all of his hybrids. Save for Tyler, of course.

_Or not,_ he thought bitterly.

He understood how it worked; to break the sirebond, his hybrids needed to feel as though they were no longer indebted to him. They were loyal to him, because by turning them into half of a vampire, he had ensured that they never had to endure the pain of turning again - unless they wanted to. But no being would be able to master that amount of self-discipline - nor pain - alone. Tyler had met Hayley when he was breaking _his_ sire bond. She had helped him through it.

Klaus exhaled sharply.

She had "helped" _all_ of his hybrids to break their sire bonds to him.

He felt furious with himself for having overlooked what was right before his eyes.

They had been his second line defence - his 'back up' family. He had thought that they would never betray him.

And now, he had no one.

Closing his eyes, he replayed the events of that day. Memories flickered through his mind with the lifespan of a dream; everything fitted into the space of a few seconds. And then, he was brought back to Caroline.

_"Is that our 'thing'?" He had flirted, smiling warmly._

_"We don't have the a thing," she had teased coyly._

The way she had smiled at him - played with him. His heart jumped like a bird in a cage.

And then stopped altogether.

He sat up, in a motion that was so swift, a human would have blinked, and missed it.

_Played._

Had she been _playing_ him?

Hayley had helped break Tyler's - and the rest of the hybrids' - sire bonds. What if the 'love-affair' he had surmised between the two had been a hoax all along?

Fury boiled in Klaus' stomach. Had Caroline's civil demeanour towards him been nothing more than a means of distraction to what her boyfriend, and his company, had been orchestrating behind his back?

The answer didn't even need to be spoken.

In a rage, Klaus flew back to his manor, and, slamming the door behind him, removed his jacket with such force, he ripped off a sleeve. Hurtling the item of clothing across the foyer, he gripped the sides of his head in agony.

The sole person he had opened his heart to…

And she _didn't care._

Shouldn't he have expected as much? He had come to acknowledge the simple truth, that even when he extended the hand of friendship, at the very least - it was was not reciprocated.

Amidst his rage, a feeble knock on his front door seemed to echo throughout the whole house. He froze.

_Why? _He thought frantically. _Is her presence coincidence? A godsend? Doubtful,_ his rational mind argued. _Sheer happenstance? Most probable._

She was shifting from foot to foot - a byproduct of nerves, impatience or perhaps the chill of the night air, he surmised.

He swallowed his fury, until it simmered at the pit of his stomach, and blinked back the hot tears in his eyes.

Klaus' hand clasped the knob in a second, and within a fraction of a moment, her usually collected, reserved face - now soft with compassion - stared up at him through a serene blue gaze.

Which quickly flickered through a phase of fear when she registered the blood that stained his white shirt front and sleeves.

"I was just thinking about you," he pronounced with a lilt, though his eyes only bore turmoil.

She exhaled unsteadily at his words. "May I come in?" She managed, fingers curling into her palms.

Her voice was soft, but rich; an antidote to his pounding head.

Klaus nodded wordlessly, and stepped aside.

His anger had all but evaporated, when he shut the door and they stood facing one another in the empty hall.

For a moment, neither said a word.

Finally, Klaus broke the silence.

"Why are you here, Caroline?"

She smiled shyly - seemingly at loss for words. "To take you up on that offer for a drink," she answered lightly - in attempt to hearten the mood.

His expression was unchanged.

"Klaus?" Came her gentle voice.

"Why are you here?" He repeated, in a hard tone.

Caroline exhaled. "I…I don't know. I got in the car to drive myself home-" she broke off into the soft laugh; one that only slipped out when she couldn't make sense of her own words. Composing herself with a deep breath, she answered quietly, "I was...thinking of you, and I felt like I needed to…talk to you about…well, that I needed to clarify-"

"I think I know what you came here to discuss, Caroline," he interjected.

She pursed her lips. "You…you do?"

He could hear her heart pounding.

"Tyler and Hayley never had an affair," he said bluntly. "Did they?"

Caroline's eyes seemed to lose some of their colour, when she replied slowly, and carefully with, "No."

"It was all just to mask their little…endeavours to free my hybrids -Correct?" His voice was hardening with irritation, and the sting of betrayal.

"Yes," she answered - almost inaudibly.

Klaus' eyes glazed over. "Was any of it real?"

Caroline was caught off guard - genuinely unsure of her answer. For Tyler's sake, and her morals' - she wanted to tell him that there really was nothing there. But after her conversation with Stefan, not even half an hour ago, she found that she was questioning herself.

And it frightened her.

"Why tease me!" He yelled, gripping the sides of her arms.

She jumped. "I didn't want to hurt you-" was all she could manage, though she felt as though she were lying - and she hated the feeling.

"Why are you here then?" Klaus demanded. "To grovel? To-"

"Jesus, Klaus - house calls don't always have to be about people falling at your knees and begging for mercy!" She shouted heatedly in reply, yanking herself away from his grasp.

He glared. "Then _what_?"

She brushed passed him, and entered his spacious parlour. "I told you that I came straight from the Salvatore's, right?" She didn't wait for his response. "So Stefan and I were discussing all sorts - and then, he said something…that…"

"What?" Klaus pressed, now a couple of metres from her again.

"He said that…we were all the same. That we were just like you. That we all did horrible things, except…" She caught his eyes in an unshakeable gaze. "The only thing that separates you…from us, is that we have people. Family. People that we can count on."

Klaus' emotionless face coloured with flashes of anger, and then softened, as he comprehended. "Then why are you here? To rub it in?"

She took a tentative step forward. "I came here, because after the time we've spent together lately, and I suppose…after the truth behind Stefan's words, I felt like I owed it to you, to tell you the truth. I was actually feeling...horrible about going behind your back."

Klaus tore his eyes away from her, and his mouth lifted at one corner in a grim smile. "So your visit had nothing to do with you coming of your own accord?"

"I don't understand," she murmured. "I wanted to come clean with you Klaus."

"So _come_ clean!" He roared, moving towards her. "Tell me if you felt something - anything at all - in these past few weeks. Anything." His face was inches from hers.

Caroline exhaled unsteadily. "I…Klaus-" She stopped in her tracks, when her cell vibrated in her pocket. Meeting Klaus' gaze with a mixture of apology and uneasiness, she answered her phone. "Tyler?" She spoke into the receiver.

Klaus felt sick - foreseeing how the events to come were going to unfold - watching the transformation, as she stepped away to take in what her boyfriend had to say.

"Wh-what?" Her voice barely came out as a croak. "Ty…I'm so sorry. God - I'll be there in a minute. It's okay." She hung up.

"What - no _'I love you'_s'?" Klaus uttered coldly.

"Argh!" She darted to him, and for a moment, the_ snap_ of her hand against the flesh of his cheek was the only sound in the room. "You…son-of-a-bitch! I came to apologise - and you were furious with me, but the whole time…you…" she broke off. "You _killed_ Carol. She was _innocent_." She placed both hands on his chest, and shoved him, pushing past him.

"Caroline," Klaus began, stepping forward. "Lo-"

"No!" Her words sliced his short. "Do you know what your problem is, Niklaus? When someone's done wrong by you, or upset you somehow, it's _World War Three_; you can unleash a demon, and no one is allowed to question you for it! But if you hurt someone else - or you betray them? It's all fun and games. It doesn't matter. They don't have the _right_ to be _upset_. And that's why, despite the fact that we _all_ do bad things, we still have people to turn to, and you don't. You push people away, and you don't treat them as equals - mystical hybrid blood or not. We have feelings too." She flung the door open, swallowing back tears. "And don't make the mistake of thinking that we don't."

The mahogany door's slam bounced of the walls like a gunshot.

And Klaus felt the bullet.

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**A/N: What do you think? Whether this should stay a one-shot, or continue on, is up to you guys! Like I said, first Vampire Diaries fanfic so I'm only just finding my footing here! Please review - good/bad? More/Less? Do you think I should keep it as a one-shot? Continue?  
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**Thank you for reading!  
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	2. Philander

**Hey there chickadees! I was overwhel****med with the response to the first chapter - you guys are amazing! D****ecided to come back [obviously] **;) I think I got back to almost every reviewer [that had a PM activated]. and I'm sorry this took a while :/ but happy reading! :) R&R.   


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**2. Philander**

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_"Delusion detests focus and romance provides the veil."_  
- Suzanne Finnamore

The town square was in chaos when Caroline arrived.

Cutting off nearby pathways to the crime scene, were a dozen police cruisers, their red and blue lights bouncing off the reflection of the pool, giving the whole place an urgent pandemonium feel. Officers did their best to push back nosey bystanders; those eager to have their part in the dramatic events that had unfolded that evening. And, of course - the press; camera's snapped and clicked in seizures of white and silver, licking up any image that would speak a thousand words.

It was a nightmare.

And it certainly wasn't the way that Carol Lockwood deserved to go out, Caroline decided sadly, choosing a car-park out of the way of the commotion. Locking her _Ford_, she strode to the mass of people, pushing and shoving her way through with her arms of iron. At last, when she reached the barrier of _POLICE _tape, the cop patrolling before her, went to restrict her from crossing over.

"My mother is the Sheriff," she protested to the deputy. "And-"

"Let her through," a girl's voice interrupted from behind the man. "She's the son's girlfriend."

The sound of Hayley's voice sent a shudder of displeasure down Caroline's spine. "I could have managed," she responded snidely to the brunette, when they came face to face.

"Sure you could have," Hayley answered coldly.

Caroline went to move towards the fountain, but Hayley's voice cut through again.

"Where were _you_?" She piped. "And you weren't home, because Tyler went there after he discovered all of his hybrid friends slaughtered in the woods."

Caroline swallowed down her irritation. " You know, for someone who just sent twelve of her friends to their death, you're quite happy with yourself," she answered tersely, eyes narrowing.

Hayley exhaled. "You wouldn't get it, even if I tried to explain. But, enough of me. Where _were you_?"

"I was with Stefan."

"Ooh," the she-wolf cooed. "But wait - wasn't it Klaus, that you had a thing for, not your best friend's Ex?" She gave her a sly look. "I wonder how much Ty would like to know that you were at _his_ house just now - instead of helping him through this trying time."

Caroline clawed Hayley's slim arm, and yanked her to a halt. "Listen to me you two-faced bitch. My boyfriend's mother - you crush_'s_ mother, has just died, and unlike someone, I have a heart."

Hayley yanked back her arm. "Who do you think warned him to run away? Even if it meant that I was putting my own life at risk? I mean, he told you so on the phone, didn't he?"

Caroline took a beat.

"Aren't you the least bit curious as to why _Original-Boy-Wonder_ is still alive?" Hayley queried smoothly. "Or were you two not doing much talking, _hmm_?"

"Caroline?" Tyler's distraught voice called from a few metres away.

Slipping Hayley a cold stare, Caroline knocked into her solidly as she passed, and then ran into her boyfriend's arms.

"I'm so sorry, Tyler," she murmured into his neck, as he sobbed against her chest. "I'm so sorry."

Pulling away from her, shoulders lifting and dropping in violent intakes of breath, he snarled in a cutting tone, "Klaus did this. _Klaus_ did this. I'm going to_ kill _him. I swear. If it's the last thing I do."

As he backed away, she gripped his arm. "Ty, don't. Please - he did this for a reason. You tried to kill him-"

"Who's side are you on, Care?" He demanded through a thick throat.

"Yours, Tyler," she assured him quickly. "If there _was_ a side - but this isn't about sides; at least, not to him it isn't. He wants you know what it feels like to have nothing, and he'll k-"

"You defending him? Caroline, he just drowned my mother!"

"I am not!"

"You're justifying his actions, Caroline! This can't be justified - he did this to get to me! To get _even_."

"Yeah," she replied. "So maybe he did. But understand this, Tyler. If you go after him now, he_ will kill you_. Please, _please_ don't try and go up against him - you can't win."

He ripped his hand from hers. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Tyler, I love you. I _don't_ want him to _kill_ you - you're not safe," Caroline pleaded with him. "You need to leave, even if we just hide-"

"No," he interrupted her, eyes burning with new pain. "You need to go. I don't have it in me to hear it, anymore, Care."

"Tyler, I know it's hard but your mother wouldn't want you to be putting yourself in danger by being in public, like this; she'd want you to stay _safe_. I need to get you out of here! It's what she would have wanted-"

"If I can't even see my mother off to the morgue, then I don't want any part of this anymore!" He fired back, holding back tears of frustration.

Caroline hands balled into fists by her sides. "And what is _'this'_?"

He didn't answer her question, instead he said, "Please. Just go. I need support right now, not explanations, or _orders_. I can take care of myself."

From behind Tyler, Hayley advanced. She placed a hand on his arm. "C'mon, Ty. They're taking her away."

Caroline felt her heart splinter. "Tyler?" She breathed. Then, icing over, she hissed, "Why am I the enemy? _Hayley_ is the one who sent all of your friends to the slaughter box! I'm here to _help_ you!"

Glaring, he didn't turn once, when he started walking away.

And there was nothing she could do to stop him.

_- TVD -_

"Care, I'm so sorry." Elena's demeanour was as contrite, as it was sympathetic. "But, listen to me; I know what it's like to lose…_all _of your parents, and everything we'll be all over the place for him."

They were in Caroline's living room, and Elena had sped over as soon as she had arrived from her car trip with Bonnie. Though Caroline was irritated that her friend had spent the day with Damon, and that Bonnie couldn't come _(given that she was expecting a visitor, and that she would not mention who it was),_ the blonde vampire was glad for the company.

"You don't think I understand?" She now cried incredulously. "I lost my father!"

"I know Care," Elena retracted calmly, "but you still have your mum, and Steven. Tyler doesn't have _anybody_-"

"But he has _me_."

"Yes, but he doesn't have any _family_ left, and he's really hurting right now, Caroline!" Elena snapped. "Granted, the fact that he pushed you away might say something about where you're standing as a couple, but this is absolutely one of those times when you can't make it about you. I know what he said might've been bad, but people can say just about _anything_ when they're grieving. So, if he says give him space, then give it to him."

Caroline exhaled sharply, and rolled her eyes. "Like you're the queen of giving people space! You couldn't even stay away from Damon a _day_ because of your sire bond, and you just can't admit that what you feel for him _isn't_ real."

Elena placed both of her palms up in defence. "Oh, I'm sorry - were we talking about _your _relationship, or mine? And weren't _you _the one that tried to get me to admit my feelings for him when I denied it, not so long ago, anyway?"

Caroline was at loss for words.

"You know what?" Her friend filled in instead. "I came over here to support you, but it seems like _you_ need some space too." She exited the living room, and made a beeline for the front door. "Give me a call when you've settled down," she called over her shoulder, slamming the entrance behind her.

Slumping into the couch behind her, Caroline covered her face with her hands. In the space of a week, she had created turbulence amongst the people that mattered to her the most. Her interventions had all been orchestrated with good intentions, but they had backfired more violently on her than she could have anticipated.

_I should have just let sleeping dogs lie,_ she thought dismally.

And now, who was there to turn to?

She had scared Elena off, Bonnie was busy, Matt would be with April _(if things had settled down with her, after the failed 'compulsion')_, Stefan would be sobbing his heart out to his journal, and Tyler…was with Hayley.

One sole name probed at her conscience, however hard she fought it even voicing itself.

_Don't,_ she pleaded with her brain. _Don't._

_Klaus, _it whispered dreamily, like an intoxicating mist that crept around the folds of her sane mind.

A mixture of hatred, fury and guilt swam sickeningly through her entire being; Klaus had slaughtered twelve people in the space of minutes, and he was out to kill her boyfriend. Klaus was furious because Tyler had _lied_ to him about cheating on Caroline, herself. Klaus had_ killed_ Carol.

Klaus cared about her, she had no doubt - but he had severed their last tie when he murdered yet another innocent person. Another victim, at the hands of his temper.

_Just don't think about him,_ she ordered herself silently, standing, and moving towards the bottle of scotch her mother kept hidden between a crevice formed by two gardening books. After two glasses, Caroline's already inconsolable brain succumbed to an idea that, once approached, could not be shaken.

Leaving the house without locking it, she powered through the woods, her legs carrying her blindly across acres, until she finally arrived at the Lockwood Manor. A single, yellow light glowed through a bedroom window on the second story. Heart quickening in its pace, she entered the house, and flew up the flights of stairs, slowing when she reached Tyler's bedroom door. A small gap permitted a perspective of the room.

Caroline had never felt so internally injured and sickened, as she did when her eyes captured the image before her. Stepping backwards, her mind choked on the reality of another young woman in _her_ place, in _his_ bed.

"You _slept _with her?" She heard herself shout painfully.

Tyler was at the door in second, dishevelled in his creased suit shirt, and boxers. "Caroline-"

"You asshole," she hit him forcefully on the chest. "In the space of_ two_ hours, you bring home your slut and screw her. Grief sex - isn't that what you call it?" She struck him across the face. "You _son-of-a-bitch_! I came to apologise, because I felt horrible about trying to make you leave when your mother had just died...but all the while you'd bedded the _she-wolf-_"

"I didn't sleep with her Caroline!" He shouted.

"You didn't?" She panted. "But she's in your bed-"

"I was upset. She was being a friend."

"Oh, I'm sure. So this is why you didn't want me around, was it? You would rather be _comforted _by her? Tyler, I've known you and your mother my whole life, I don't understand-"

"Do you really think I wanted to be near you after what you did?"

Caroline frowned. "What on earth do you mean?"

"Hayley told me - that you were with Klaus. When I went straight to your house, after the hybrids were slaughtered, and waited for you to come home from the Salvatore's. I texted you, and I told you that they were dead, and that he was alive. No response. But you saw the message, didn't you? Because you went straight to his house!"

"Tyler, I felt horrible about double-crossing him-"

"When I was sitting in _your_ lounge room, I got the phone call...you were with him," he continued as if she hadn't spoken. "I called Hayley, thinking that you would have already have heard the news. Then I called you. But you were with _him_. The monster that killed my pack. The guy, who is out to_ kill_ me," he answered through his teeth. "Does it really surprise you, that I wouldn't want to talk to you right now?"

Caroline's eyes dropped to the floor. "I felt horrible about sending him the kill-box, Tyler. I went to apologise. That's all there is to it."

"Is it really?" He questioned. "Because Hayley-"

"You know what? Fine, push me away. But if you're seriously going to take _her_ word, over _mine_, then" - she dropped her hands, so they slapped against her legs - "I don't know what we're doing anymore."

"Don't make me the enemy, in this, Caroline," Tyler said tiredly. "Not today, of all days-"

"Fine!" she cut him off, her voice winding down. "Fine," she then sighed. "But just…tell me something - because deep down, I…I know it's true. But I just need to hear you say it. Please."

Tyler's eyes softened with regret. He knew what she was about to ask of him.

"Did you kiss her?" Her voice was quiet - almost inaudible, to mask the tremble it held in it. "Even if it wasn't when you were away breaking the sire bond…"

After a long moment, Tyler's breathy answer came.

"Yes."

Caroline nodded, her eyes filling with tears.

"I never wanted to hurt you Care," Tyler began to explain.

"And you know what? Maybe you didn't want to, but you did anyway, Tyler," she responded thickly, turning and taking the stairs to the bottom floor.

His footsteps echoed after hers. When they were in the foyer, he grabbed her hand. "Caroline. I'm sorry, I really am. It just happened…but it's you I love, not her."

She retracted her arm. "If that were entirely true, then you wouldn't have done it."

Tyler shook his head. "Caroline…we can work this out."

Caroline folded her arms across her chest. "Maybe we could - but if we…_tried_, at the very least, _she_ would have to _leave_," Caroline whispered, in a tone with so much heartache, she knew it cut deep for him. "And we both know that that's a sacrifice that you're not willing to make."

"You're wrong. I will," he said suddenly. "I will ask her to leave-"

"Tyler."

"No, Care, I'm serious - I will kick her out-"

"Tyler!" She said loudly, eyes flickering to the top of the staircase.

He stopped, and his eyes followed her line.

Hayley stood at the mid-way barrister, hands pulling down on her sleeves, chewing her bottom lip.

"Hayley," Tyler began to explain, but Caroline halted him again.

"You can't do it," she laughed dryly, discrediting his words. "And nothing I say is going to convince you to do so."

"Care," Tyler pleaded.

"I can't do this anymore Tyler!" She yelled, her patience spent. "Nothing is going to change the fact that lately it's you and her, against _me_. In _everything_. Every conversation, every plan, every argument. I'm _always_ the second person to find out about things. The second person you _call_, like tonight - and I can't _live_ like that. I can't come in _second best. A_nd with you? I already _have_."

All were speechless for a painful moment, and then Caroline took flight.

Letting herself out of the house, she sprinted blindly, leaving the mansion, and Tyler's shouts of protest, behind her.

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**You like? Klaroline encounter next chapter - tension, angst. My sorta thing! I'll update asap. x**


	3. Revelations

**Hey hey! :) Hope you all had an awesome Christmas guys - here's my prezzie [sorry it's late!] R&R - you know you guy's have been awesome! :) x ****Happy Reading! **

******_NB: Second upload. Edited a few cheeky typos that slipped through!_**

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**3. Revelations**

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_"Truth can only be revealed. We cannot be creators, only receptors."_  
James W. Sire

Liz Forbes was in the kitchen when Caroline arrived home - still clad in her uniform, her gun holstered at her waist. It was when her mother turned, that Caroline saw how broken she was. Purple shadows melted into the red rims of her eyes - her cheeks, drawn tightly over her cheek bones, were as white as the china plate she held in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Caroline murmured, stepping forward.

Liz set down the plate. "You know that we didn't always get along, but she was my friend, for most our lives…and now, I don't really know what to say…" Liz trailed off, hanging her head to conceal tears.

Caroline enveloped her mother in an embrace. "She was a person that tried to do what she thought was right. She was a good mom, a good wife, and a good mayor. She was a _good_ person, despite her flaws. I mean, we all have flaws, right?" Throat thickening, Caroline swallowed. And with no explanation to satisfy herself, at that moment Klaus' face flickered across her mind. Breaking away from her mother, she tried to shake him. "Have you had dinner?" She asked, already moving towards the refrigerator.

"No," Liz replied, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I was going to whip up something-"

"Take a seat," Caroline told her mother. "I'll make you pasta."

"Honey, that'll take too long-" Liz began to protest, but Caroline retrieved a container, and sat it down on the bench.

"It's plain, left over from a couple of nights ago," Caroline explained with a small smile. "You were working late, and I had Bolognese. I'll just make the sauce, and rehydrate this."

Taking a seat at the table, Liz watched as her daughter moved effectively around the kitchen, doing as she had said she would. In minutes, the aroma of melting mince sizzling in the pan filled the room, and not long after, the scent of tomato had joined it.

"How are you?" She finally asked, after a long period of silence.

Caroline's head turned sideways slightly, and her fingers tightened around the wooden spoon she held. "I'm fine," she lied.

"Honey," Liz contradicted her. "Tell me."

Caroline spun around. "Tyler and I broke up," she blurted, chewing her lip. Before Liz could question her, she added shortly. "He cheated on me."

Her mother stood, and embraced her. "I'm sorry, sweet-heart."

"With Hayley!" Caroline exclaimed, sniffing. "I mean, why wasn't I…good enough for him? Through everything, I _waited_ for him, and-"

"He wasn't good enough for you, Caroline," she responded, as her daughter pulled away, and turned back to preparing the meal.

"No, Mom. He was good enough. He just doesn't _love_ me, like he did once before. Something's just _changed_," she answered, becoming more quiet in her tone of voice, as she comprehended a truth in her own words.

Perhaps that was how Elena felt about Stefan?

Pushing away that notion, she finished preparing the meal, and emptied the contents into a bowel for her mother.

Liz had her face buried in her hands, when her daughter placed the steaming meal before her. Lifting a forkful to her mouth, the sheriff could only down a mouthful before exhausted tears slipped from her eyes.

"Too hot?" Caroline asked lightly, though she knew why her mother was struggling.

Liz set down her spoon. "I'm sorry Care…I can't…I don't feel like eating." She stood. "You finish it, Sweet-Heart."

Heart falling slightly at the rejection of the effort she had put into making a pleasant meal, to cheer her mother, she accepted it, and reached up into the cupboard by the fridge. Taking a package of medicine, she popped a sleeping pill for her mother, and poured her a glass of water.

"Caroline," her mother sighed, when she accepted the medicinals.

"Mom, you need to get some sleep - and I know, that without an induced coma, that's not going to happen," she pressed firmly, offering a rueful smile.

Liz kissed her forehead. "You get some sleep too."

"I will," she promised. "Goodnight, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too."

When Caroline heard her mother's bedroom door shut, she took her seat at the kitchen table. Forking the Bolognese, she only stomached a few mouthfuls, before she decided to cling-wrap the rest, and refrigerate it for lunch the next day. After whizzing through the dishes, she left them to dry on the rack, and then turned all the house lights off. Standing alone in the hall, she felt a great sense of loneliness, and a certain heaviness weighed down over her head.

It was quarter to two in the morning when she finally entered her bedroom, and closed the door. Moving to her window, she pulled it open, and inhaled a deep, lung-full of the crisp evening/early morning air. As the cold engulfed her body, and polluted her mind, she stumbled back onto her bed, and closed her eyes.

Playing over the events of the day, her brain touched on the _Winter Wonderland _fundraiser, Tyler's plan, her revelation to Stefan, Tyler's text message about the hybrids, and then, her visit to Klaus.

She had felt badly about sending him off like a pig raised for slaughter. It had gnawed at her conscience, and so she had done the only decent thing she knew to do, in that situation; she had apologised. She had confessed the truth, and had apologised. And the whole time, he had been keeping a secret from her.

Carol's death had shaken the whole town, but what it had done to Tyler, and herself, was shake the crumbling foundation for their relationship. Because they had been failing to connect _- even if only in very minor ways -_ for a long while - and that evening, it had led to the demise of their relationship.

Though the sting of his betrayal still throbbed achingly, her heart admitted the simple truth, before her own mind could; she had loved him, and he her - but their relationship had almost been over, the moment Hayley showed up in town. And it wasn't because Tyler was _attracted _to her; it was because he had recognised a part of himself in the girl, and for some reason, or other - they connected like she never had with him.

Perhaps they had grown apart - or they had just drifted away from one another, but for now, it was over.

_And it is for Stefan and Elena too_, a small voice probed at the back of her mind._ It's almost as if the reason you were fighting so hard for their relationship, was because you were secretly battling to keep something in it, that you subconsciously saw dying in your own._

Blinded by her loyalty to Stefan, she had been so sure that Elena's feelings for the older Salvatore were absolutely connected to the sire bond, and nothing else. But, undoubtedly, her own relationship with Stefan had amplified in the past few months, since he had _'come back from the edge' _- she, a person who could usually admit to her prejudiced behaviours, had failed to see that they were consuming her. Of course, she stood by Stefan, and she hated Damon for how he had treated her_ - and she always would - _but, what if that was it? What if Elena, in turning into a vampire _(and even just growing up in general),_ had just slipped out of touch with the seventeen year-old girl, that had fallen in love with the forever-seventeen-year-old guy? Caroline herself, had fallen for Tyler when she had been in a relationship with Matt - and the werewolf had been the _'bad'_ guy; he had been an asshole to Vicki, Stefan and Jermey, and he had kissed Matt's _mother_. Yet she had forgiven all of that, and she had accepted him for who he was, because she loved him.

And now, when Tyler was the 'good' guy - she found herself falling for something even more dangerous; a darker abyss - a black hole, from whence there was no return once she had reached it.

_"You hypocrite,"_ she furiously thought aloud. _"You prejudiced, hypocrite."_

"What did I do now?" A smooth, all-too-familiar voice intercepted, breaking into her solitude.

Her eyes flew open, and she had only the time to prop herself on her elbows, before his fingers were against her lips, stifling a scream.

Confident that she would not give him away, after a very short moment, he stood back.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded heatedly, sitting. "I thought I said that I didn't want to see you-"

"You never said that," Klaus replied, shaking his head, and smirking to himself.

She stood, and struck him for the second time that night.

"I recommend you stop beating me, love," he warned. "I'd hate to be in a bad mood with you."

"What, and you aren't already?" She scoffed, folding her arms across her chest.

"No," he answered sincerely. "I'm not."

"But I told the _truth_ to you before - I _yelled_ at you," she retorted, doubt clouding her judgment. "It only takes one honest comment to earn a place on your Christmas to-kill list."

"I think not" he disagreed. "Your honesty is a fresh breath of air." When she rolled her eyes, he added, "Speaking of which, shall I close this window? It's cold." He moved towards the frame.

"Yeah," she said dryly. "Do it right now. On your way out."

"Caroline-"

"What do you want, Klaus? I thought I already made it quite clear - if not in direct words, then at least in context - that I didn't want anything to do with you," she addressed coldly. "You ruined any chance you had with me, when you murdered an innocent woman. A friend of my mother's. A person I have known, since I was a baby."

Klaus' eyes stared aimlessly at an artwork on her wall. "Everyone that knew me as a child, is long dead. You still have friends, and a family."

"And so would you, if you didn't stick daggers in their chests, or burn them to death, or boss them around until they had to literally kill themselves to be free of you!" Caroline replied indignantly. "This isn't _about_ you. You can't keep on living by a motto that demands that, because you had to do it tough, then everybody else has to do it tougher."

He stood virtually on top of her, his cool breath fanning across her face. "Do not tell me how to live."

"Think of it, as advice, then," she hissed through her teeth. "If you keep relating every situation, every betrayal, every death to something that happened in _your_ life - you're going to make it nowhere. You can't afford to be selfish. Not with your family, and especially not with me."

"So I may still have hope for us?" He asked quietly, thick lips lifting subtly in one corner.

"No!" She shouted.

He pressed a finger against her mouth again, to hush her. Though this time, without the element of surprise, she could retract within a second. He moved away from her, and stood before her desk, his eyes travelling across the articles of significance she had stored there. He fingered a cluster of cheerleading medals, and smiled to himself.

"You can't have hope," she elaborated, more calmly.

He turned, lips pursed. "Well, that isn't what I just got from that. You said that I '_ruined any chance I had' _with you, did you not? Meaning that I was in the running."

"Believe what you like - or don't, because I don't even want to begin to imagine, how sad your lonely little mind is," she seethed.

He was before again, once more, his hands on her arms in an iron grasp. "I came here to apologise-"

"How _big_ of you," she cut him off sourly.

"Any apology that passes these lips is a rarity," he said. "You would do well to remember that, love."

"I wouldn't do well to remember anything about you, other than your pure streak of _evil_," she spat.

"Streak?" He relayed.

"Yes."

"Then you do not think me all bad." He smiled slightly again.

Caroline shook her head. "What are you talking about? Don't twist my words-"

He stepped into her space. "I'm not twisting them at all, love; a streak is an element of a specified kind in someone's character - it does not completely make up their personality. Thus, madam" - he leaned in towards her - "you do not think me to be all bad. Perhaps, though you would like to believe that your words would not betray you - subconsciously, your choice of them them does."

Caroline swallowed hard. "Jump back into _Pride and Prejudice_, Darcy. I haven't got time for this." She manoeuvred out of his way, and crossed to the other side of the bed, giving them a couple of metres distance. "And you need to leave."

Seeing that she was visibly unnerved by his revelation of her character, Klaus moved towards the window again. "You try to hide your feelings, love, and I can't always see through them. It's a challenge, I will admit. But I like the challenge. And deep down, so do you."

"Great. So that's why you choose to annoy me?"

"No Caroline," he answered, eyes tender, and honest. "It is why I still have hope."

With that, he was gone, shutting her window behind him.

And for long afterwards, she could only stare after him in an unfathomable mix of emotions.

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**God I love these two. Seriously, love writing about this couple - and we're getting close to... *ahem*... ;) what do you think, lovelies? Let me know!**


	4. Intuition

**Hi there! I'm so, so sorry about the massive delay in getting this up, because really, it was a mixture of things; no muse, no access to a computer, at one point [my week of NYE celebrations] yadda yadda. I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting, but I really hope you guys will still stick with the story, even though it [TVD] has already come back to TheCW [US], Fox8 [Aus] etc.**

**Okay, lovelys - after a ridiculous wait, here's your next installment.**

**Happy Reading! R&R Please. :)**

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**4. Intuition**

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_"Intuition is the clear conception of the whole at once."  
_Johann Kaspar Lavater_  
_

_"If you keep relating every situation, every betrayal, every death to something that happened in your life - you're going to make it nowhere. Not with your family, and especially not with me."_

Her words had echoed in his mind, long since he had taken leave from her house.

And although he tried to force their conversation away from his mind, he could not help smiling, then frowning instantaneously, when his brilliant brain defied him, and tormented him with its memory.

_Tormented,_ he thought. T_orment, because for once in my life I want something that I cannot have. _

_Yet._

Klaus had come to learn , in spending time with Caroline, that although he had gotten what he wanted in the past, even when it had been out of reach to begin with - he could not just 'snap' his fingers, and gain her respect and affection. To achieve the latter, he knew that he needed to acquire the former. He had worried prior to his house call on Caroline, that he had severed any chance he may have had in achieving those two things, but he knew not to fear such things now.

Rolling over onto his stomach, and pressing his face into the Egyptian cotton of his bed sheets, his train of thought travelled into dangerous territory.

Klaus saw how he made her feel - he unnerved her, but not in a negative way - and that was it. When they were together, he himself, felt as though his heart of a thousand years had never felt such...yearning. He had never felt beneath anyone, or at the hands of other - he was the superior in any relationship - but with Caroline, he was at her mercy.

He loved her _strength._ He loved the way that she smiled - _when she gifted him with one_ - and how it was shy, reserved. He admired the lengths _(though not as dramatic as Elena's) _she took to preserve relationships, and the lives of those she loved.

Above all - though he was reluctant to admit it, given that, other than for Tatia, he had never given out his heart to another as he was now…

He was falling in love with her.

At first, he had been drawn to her beauty, her charming ways, and her generous, charismatic personality. Now, however, he saw that there was more to her. He was falling in love with not only the things that made her stand out, but also the parts about her that drove him insane. It was a cliché, but it was true. When she annoyed him, or pushed him - it only made him respect her more. Klaus hated being told off - but for some reason, when chiding words came from her lips, he listened. It was a totally alien concept to him - and truth be told, frightened him - but didn't _ange_r him. The more time he spent around her, the more his anger dissipated.

She made him a better person.

And that was really, why he still had hope.

"Niklaus!"

Klaus was on his feet in a start, ready to pounce on his intruder.

Elijah swept into the room, eyes suspiciously full.

"Brother," Klaus managed, shaking away the heaviness his deep mediation had left. "Long time no see, hey mate?"

Elijah clasped his arm, and shook it. "I should have known that you, Niklaus, could have found a way to avoid certain death."

Klaus shrugged, and his eyebrows lifted. "I don't know when people are going to learn to stop trying to kill me."

His brother smiled, and moved towards the decanters his brother kept by one of the great French windows of the bedroom. "Shall I pour you a drink?" He was already filling a crystal glass for himself.

"Please," Klaus accepted, walking slowly towards him.

"How well do you remember Monte Carlo?" Elijah asked.

Klaus smiled. "Gold. Gambling. Girls," he answered with a smirk. "Though I'm sure your memory of times past in our villa, differs to mine. How long has it been since you were last there - ten years, almost?"

"Not quite," Elijah contradicted, passing him a glass of scotch. "I came from there - I was there two days ago."

"Ah - and how is our villa?"

"Very much the same - a few cobwebs."

"I should murder the housekeeper; sloppy work, that."

"I think she deserves to live another day."

Klaus drained his glass. "I'll take you word for it," he compromised, pouring himself another drink. Lifting it to his lips again, he paused, as he registered it brother's thoughtful gaze. "What is it?"

Elijah's head titled sideways, eyes speculative. "You've changed."

Klaus laughed, and patted his back. "Changed how?"

"You're softer, somehow," Elijah answered - though his sincerity clouded when he witnessed his brother's eyes narrow. "You seem lighter, not _happy_, exactly, but..." he saved.

Klaus' thoughts drifted to Caroline, and he subconsciously smiled.

"Could it be?" Elijah murmured in awe, having caught on.

The hybrid gave him no moment to ponder it further. "Why have you returned?"

The darker-haired brother sighed. "Kol is on his way back, as we speak - Rebekah summoned us."

Klaus felt a moment of panic. "Who woke her?"

"A human."

He felt his insides burn with fury. "I had hoped to…silence her, for much longer than a month," he answered ruefully.

"She has a way of…disobeying."

"You don't say."

"So, what now? Do I dagger her once more?"

Elijah rolled his eyes. "You forget that you have no other dagger to silence her with again, brother."

Klaus swallowed his irritation. "So, why have you returned?" He repeated, with the expectation of a different outcome.

"Rebekah told me about your…encounter with a member of The Five…and that that was the reason why you put her down."

"More or less," the hybrid sighed, shrugging a shoulder. "She was just too…emotional. It was exhausting."

Elijah's silent disapproval was enough to guilt the other brother.

Klaus closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, brother." He opened them again. "I had no idea where you were-"

"With your resources, you could have easily found me, if you had really wanted to ," Elijah cut him off, "but I won't hold a grudge for it. I'm just glad that you're alive."

Klaus thanked him, then added, "Your room is as you left it, if you wish to stay here this evening."

"That is without question, Niklaus." Elijah sat down the glass, and turned to leave. "We'll discuss further in the morning."

Before his brother could exit, however, Klaus called, "He means to try and kill me, doesn't he?"

Elijah stopped, and swivelled on his foot. "Rebekah and Tyler exchanged words not even an hour ago. He means to find a way to…_put you down_ again somehow."

Klaus' jaw stiffened. "He cannot end me, without ending himself - and the lives of everyone he cares about. No one wins, in that case scenario."

"He seems pretty determined to find a way around it, and he has Rebekah on his side now-"

"Si_de_?" Klaus hissed, rolling of the word. "Army by my side or not, they won't win."

"But you could be desiccated through magic again," Elijah reminded him, in an unrelenting tone. "Although, I doubt they would be willing to do that; for his friends have no quarrel with you - that we know of - and according to Rebekah…Stefan is quite eager to find the vampirism cure for the lovely Elena. Something he cannot do, without your assistance, yes?"

Klaus barely nodded.

"They would all prevent such an action against you. They_ need _you, but it doesn't mean that Rebekah will not find another way to harm you. And I don't mean physically."

The clogs and wheels were churning in Klaus' mind, as he pieced together the mystery behind Elijah's words. "He cannot strike me anymore - he cannot take anything more from me; I ended his mother's life, to get even. Fair is fair."

"No, brother. There is still one more thing that he can take from you, that would cripple you." He moved towards the door again. "Sleep on it. We shall discuss it further, in the morning."

"Good night, Elijah."

When Klaus was alone once more, he opened a French door, and stepped out into the cool evening chill, glass in hand. He hated to entertain the thought, but the return of his siblings could only mean one thing; Rebekah meant to turn them against him. He had but one useless hybrid _(who was far from loyal),_ no doppelgänger blood, and no friends left. He was completely alone; for he could not be sure whether Elijah could be trusted (given that they had countlessly betrayed one another in the past). Though his brother's words circulated through his mind with every beat of his cold heart.

_There is still one more thing that he can take from you, that would cripple you._

Klaus' glass slipped from his hand, when he comprehended.

Elijah had been right, in telling him to _'sleep on it'_ - inclining, the hybrid brother already knew the answer. And he did. It was so simple.

_Caroline._

But _would_ Tyler do it? He loved her. His friends would kill him, if he did. He would be ending his own life, as well as hers. He wouldn't have to live with the guilt, or pain. It was insanely twisted, and wrong…but it would work.

In sacrificing Caroline, Tyler would be ensuring that he, Klaus, would be forever denied the one thing he had never been allowed to have.

Of course, if the cure was discovered, and he managed to mend bridges with his family…he would never be alone. But he would always _miss_ her. And he would have to live with her death, every day, until the end of time. He was infinite. The suffering would never end. Tatia's loss - even after a thousand years - still plagued him. And although Caroline was _different, _and the pain of her loss could possibly be stronger, it was borne of the same concept. The grief of her loss would shrivel him from the inside out.

Though he paraded around in the splendour of his strength and superiority, he was sick to death of losing people.

Leaning against the rock banister, he let out a long, tired breath.

He knew what he needed to do.

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**What's he going to do? :O [NB: It's not what you think - or is it?] ;) Thank you so much for reading, lovelies - and my heart goes out to everyone that reviewed [I'm sure I got back to all that had a PM activated]. Please don't read and run - tell me what you think, your words really do inspire! xx**


	5. Consume

**I'm sorry this is in so late - it took ages to write, and I started working on chapters ahead in the story! Thank you to those who reviewed last chapter [I'm sure I got back to all with a PM] and also to the favouriters/followers :) You're all so fantastic, and I write this for you guys. Enjoy! R&R xx **

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**5. Consume**

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_ "She nourishes the poison in her veins and is consumed by a secret fire."_  
Virgil

Caroline tossed again, her feet knotting the bedsheets. Moaning, she rolled onto her stomach, and pressed her face in the cool, flip-side of her pillow. The contrasting glow of her digital clock cast a green atmosphere about the room - it would be three hours until her mother woke, until the small world of Mystic Falls slowly revved into action. She hadn't slept a wink, and although she had considered unplugging the clock to deliver her irritation, she had internally (out of exhaustion) laughed at the concept of a vampire needing complete darkness to sleep.

_Perhaps I should hang from the ceiling, _she thought dryly, bordering on insanity. The little devil and angel of her conscience had been battling continuously on each shoulder since her head had first met the pillow, and she was losing it.

_Why can't you sleep? _The angel probed innocently.

_It's _his_ fault, _the devil answered with a chuckle.

_No, stop it. It isn't like that, _her moral conscience fought back, interrupting the two._ You don't feel for him that way. It's sympathy for him. He's gotten under your skin. _

She couldn't shake him.

Caroline reflected over a conversation Elena had relayed with her, that she'd had with Matt about the Salvatore brothers. He'd told Elena, that once you fell in love with someone, he didn't know whether you could ever really shake them.

_But she didn't love Klaus. She was sure it was only a certain sort of...appreciation, for parts of his character that he had come to show her in the past few months. _

_I'm not even sure I _like_ him, _she thought furiously. _I just happen to give him the benefit of the doubt more than I used to._

Had she ever given him the benefit of the doubt? Was she simply just falling for him - and therefore being nasty to him because, inevitably, she was finding herself drawn to him?

So what was it about him? She'd never felt like this with Tyler - he'd never cost her nights' sleep, he'd never made her feel so much anger, that it almost morphed into some form of passion…

_You know you would have slept with him, if you'd met him in your junior year. You would have snapped him up, and fallen head over heels. If you weren't the vampire you are now, and instead the human you once were, you would have slept with him. You had a thing for bad boys._

With a groan, she turned her head.

_Because you were a little slut._

She moaned. _No! What's wrong with wanting him?_

_You do not.._want_ him. Ew. He is not for you._

The devil on her shoulder yawned. _Oh please._

_"_Argh!" Caroline exclaimed aloud, sitting up and covering her face with her hands.

"A little milk and whisky will help your insomnia," a voice called softly from the shadows of her bedroom.

"Klaus," she wheezed, breathless with surprise. "What are you doing? Get out!"

His low chuckle somehow made the room feel warmer.

"How long have you been here?" She demanded.

"Long enough."

Caroline's head fell back. "Can't we be limited to at least one stalker-ish visit a night?" She muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"I didn't come here to spy on you, love," he contradicted her, raising from his seat in the corner of the room. Regret stirred in his stomach, as watched her pretty face furrow in confusion. "I'm leaving," he announced very softly.

Caroline's legs shifted closer to her chest, as she comprehended.

"And this time I want you to come with me," he pleaded.

She felt her heart smash against her ribcage with every pulse. "I can't…_do_ that." Her eyes dropped, and she stared at her hands. "You know I can't. And I…I don't _want _to."

He sat down on her bed - and much to her surprise, he was calm. "Why not?" He asked of her, not convinced.

Though she feigned a hard eye at his close proximity, her breathing betrayed her; coming out in unsteady lengths, it proved how unsettled she was. "Because I _can't_ go with you," she finally managed, in a voice that was spoken with more confidence, than she actually felt.

"Is it really because of what you _feel_, or because you're afraid of what _everyone else_ will think?" He unconsciously put a hand down on the bedspread.

Caroline moved, legs pressing against her torso. "I won't go with you. I'm doing well enough not to just yell right back at you, let alone be 'calm and collected' about this situation for one more second. Can't you see that?"

"You didn't answer my question." His beautiful, blue eyes locked with hers. "Are you afraid of coming with me, because of what you feel for me, or because you're afraid of what your friends would think, if you admitted-"

"Admitted _what?_" Caroline riposted, but then saw something break in his eyes, and she subliminally softened. "You kill people. You take people out of my life. You threaten the people that I love. I can't just ignore that."

"And I'm not asking you to, love."

She shook her head. "No. I still love Tyler."

"Do you?" He wondered, voice almost inaudible.

She frowned, internally questioning his words. "Yes."

"And why did you break up with him?"

"Because he cheated on me."

"Because you felt betrayed?"

"Yes."

"Because you felt that he had not been honest with you, and never put you first?"

Caroline paused, and felt him read every emotion that flickered across her face. "Yes," she finally answered.

He grabbed her hand, and his heart jumped when she didn't pull away. "That's the beauty of you and I; I'm honest with you, as you are with me. You know who I am, you know what I do - and yet, at the pageant, you told me that I was perfect." Though Caroline rolled her eyes and sighed, he still leant forward. "I swear to you, that I will devote every waking hour to your happiness, if just being with me, and being loved by me, isn't enough. And I will protect you."

For a long minute, no words passed the lips of either party.

When Caroline's opened her mouth to reply, her eyes gave the answer before her voice did.

"You're staying," Klaus said through his teeth, standing with his hands balled into fists.

"I'm sorry," Caroline whispered, feeling the surprising throb of tears beneath her eyelids as she blinked. "I'm sorry, I can't."

Klaus' eyes glistened, and for a moment it seemed as though he were leaving, but he turned swiftly and stepped forward. "I beg you to reconsider."

"Tell me why I _need_ to go," she said, overwhelmed by his urgency.

"I cannot say, for you will not believe me," he responded swiftly, his words pronounced precisely, coated with pain.

"Tell me," she pressed, throwing back the covers, moving towards him.

"I can't," he answered huskily, then after a pause, added with wry humour, "see how that feels?"

"Don't mess with me, that's not fair."

"Isn't it?"

"Please," she implored. "Tell me."

Klaus clawed his palms with his fingers. "There is a target painted on your forehead," he revealed, unintentionally blunt. "And it's because of me."

After the new information sank in, Caroline demanded, "What did you do?"

"I fell in love with you," he returned sharply, his entire face transforming into a mask of turmoil, and passion.

Caroline hardly breathed, hand falling to her abdomen in shock. "What?" She hardly managed, fighting between acknowledging his profession of love, and accepting the fact that there was a hit placed on her.

Klaus continued as if she hadn't spoken. "And now those who wish to kill you, are doing so because they know by destroying the one thing I love -_ my love for you, being the single thing that I have left_ - I would truly be left with nothing. No family. No army. No…love."

Caroline nodded, acknowledging his words. "But I can't go with you," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"I can't return this time," he swore to her. "If that is your wish. If it's what you truly want. If you are to live here for the moment, and be _safe_…I can't come back."

Caroline swallowed hard. "And what about your hunt for the cure? Your obsession with making Elena human again?"

Klaus' head tilted to the side. "I may not be able to make any more hybrids at present, but I can still make vampires and compel them. It isn't as if I don't have foot soldiers, or witches. Have you already forgotten that before my hybrids, when I first arrived - I already had them?"

"So slaves, then?" Caroline apprehended, her eyes filling.

"Caroline-"

"No," she cut him off, swallowing her disappointment to feed her argument. "That's where you don't get it. You're _enslaving_ people to do your dirty work for you. People deserve to have free will - I deserve to have free will-"

"I haven't taken anything from you, Caroline," he pointed out tenderly, interrupting her rant.

"You've taken my sanity!" She exclaimed, shoulders heaving. "I mean, you slaughtered your hybrids, because they weren't sired to you anymore; because they weren't your little 'lap dogs' anymore."

"No," Klaus responded darkly. "I had to kill them, because they were going to end me."

"Is that what you'd do to me? Compel me to agree with you, when ever we argued? Stake me whenever I was too honest? Leave me when you got tired of me-"

"I would never do anything of the sort," he swore. "Caroline, I give you my word."

She put a hand on her throbbing forehead, and exhaled unsteadily.

Klaus' expression was unfathomable, as was his tone of voice, when he replied with, "Then I suppose your choice has been made." He dropped his head, nodding. "And you're sure that this is what you want?" He looked up again.

"It is," Caroline answered incisively.

The Klaus that everyone knew so well - the person built of rage, and hurt, took over the man before her. "I could give you everything," he said harshly, speaking through his teeth once more. "I could give you castles, and cars, and glorious jewellery and clothing of such finery. I could give you what _ever_ you wanted. An education - you could study anywhere in the world. And I would trade it _all_, just so my feelings for you could be enough."

She closed her eyes a moment, and exhaled slowly. When they opened, her gaze locked with his. "But you wouldn't trade your army," she murmured, her eyes sad. As if she were torn between the choice of whether to grieve the fact, that he wouldn't make that sacrifice that for her, or that he was too selfish to see why she couldn't sacrifice the life she currently lived, to be with him. "You couldn't live without having a backup family - a plan 'B' go-to, for when things didn't work out."

He said nothing.

Much to his surprise, her head inclined towards his.

In a swift moment, her lips brushed gently against his cheek, igniting a fire beneath the surface of his skin, exploding in ever vein, touching every cell. Not only did she _feel _his reaction, for the brief moment that her flesh had touched his, she heard the short gasp he let out the moment her lips rested against his face.

"Leave with that," she told him solemnly. "And nothing else."

Though she would never admit it to another soul, as he stepped away, she registered every blue shard of his electric blue eyes, the perfect, smooth shade of his ivory skin, the soft blonde shade of his hair…the shape of his ageless, wise face. Every characteristic and trait that made up Niklaus Mikaelson, embedded itself in her immortal memory.

_You won't ever lay eyes on him again, _she told herself, although she wasn't sure whether to feel relief, or regret at the statement.

Reluctantly, he slipped out of her window for the last time.

And it was when her window shutter swung back against the frame, that a great sadness overwhelmed her. Her mind compelled her to stay exactly where she was - to not follow the mysterious man that had once generated such excitement, and pain and havoc in her town - for her friends. But her entire body urged her to step forward; to go after the man whose hard exterior had been peeled back, layer by layer, with every moment they had spent together. To follow the man who had only taken bricks down off of his walls, and revealed the sensitive, broken core that beat within - to Caroline, and Caroline alone.

Her foot inched forward - her throbbing heart winning the battle over her adamant mind, but suddenly her whole body halted - as if barricaded by one of Bonnie's spells.

He was gone.

And she was too late.

* * *

**Awwh :'( I'm sorry guys - I know it's sad, but it's only the beginning of their love story - I would never keep my favourites separated for too long ;)  
**

**When I was editing, and adding things in, all I could think about was that scene between Damon and Klaus in the latest episode of TVD (4x12), when Klaus is being all cool, and then he just _softens_, and says, 'What is it you say to her?' [Asking how Damon gets Elena to love/forgive him - because he wants Caroline] I think I'm slipping a moment like that into the next chapter [under different circumstances though], jut because I loved it so much. But what do you think? Yay or nay? Let me know! You guys have been so awesome so far x **


	6. Discernment

**Hey lovelies! I have missed writing and posting so much - the last couple of months were a massive slap of reality in the face, being back at school, with an unbelievable work load. Anyway, I am so, so sorry I couldn't get this up to you, when so much has happened with Klaroline on the show [which i have been immensely loving, by the way - anyone else?]  
**

_NB: __I have taken "scenes" from episode 10 here - but I've changed around the dialogue; so please don't get grumpy if the quotes aren't exact - because they're not supposed to be! Just so we're clear ;)_

**Okay, enjoy lovelies! R&R please :) xx**

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**6. Discernment**

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_"It has always seemed that a fear of judgment is the mark of guilt and the burden of insecurity."_  
― Criss Jami

"You all know that you're to attend the memorial at the end of the period, yes?" The new history teacher, Mrs Wilkes relayed to the class, folding away the slip of paper from the school's office into the pocket of her slacks. She was an Australian woman - from what they all knew, she was young, got married younger, and her husband had been killed in a car accident. She'd moved to America in search of a new start.

To begin with, they'd all sympathised with her - given what she'd been through - and then they'd figured that she was a bitch; and ever since tried to have as little as possible to do with her except for the five lessons a week they had to see her.

Caroline exhaled unsteadily, and snuck a glance to Tyler - who still sat in his old seat, beside her; his eyes were fixated on something beyond the murky glass of the schoolroom. To her right, Matt fiddled with a pen between his thumb and index finger, teeth chewing into his bottom lip.

Feeling her eyes on him, he looked up and offered her a small, sympathetic smile.

In front of her, she could sense Elena staring at Stefan's empty chair.

As Mrs Wilkes began to prattle on about the French Revolution, Caroline's pen etched deep blue lines into her page. It felt as though every moment that slowly passed was weighted down with the burden of a thousand unanswered questions.

It didn't make sense.

Caroline sighed tiredly.

Klaus had wanted to make more hybrids.

He had wanted the cure for Elena, so he could build his army.

He had wanted it, more than anything.

And now, he was willing to give it all up…for the sake of her safety?

_Impossible,_ her conscience argued, enraged. _He doesn't do good things. He killed Tyler's mother. He killed Aunt Jenna. He killed Elena…briefly. He made Stefan turn off his humanity. He enslaved Tyler. He made Tyler bite me. He doesn't _do_…good things._

The same questions and excuses had circulated endlessly, plaguing her mind since his final visit two nights before. And, as with every time the 'unanswered' were exercised in her brain...it was all and only precisely that; no answers.

"Caroline?" A smooth, masculine voice interrupted her troubled thoughts.

She started, and her eyes lifted, and swept to the left.

Tyler's round, black eyes flickered to the front of the room, indicative of warning.

Mrs Wilkes was at the edge of her desk, before she could ask for the question to be voiced again.

"How would you like to spend the afternoon with me, Miss Forbes? I have twenty, new student manuals that I have made for our new topic - whose pages need ordering, compiling and binding." She smiled a strange; crooked grimace. "Perhaps doing that for me might encourage better focus in class. Yes?"

At her boiling point, the rest of the class stared, until Caroline's eyes flickered to all of them in a glare, and they shuffled back to stare at the blackboard.

"I'm sorry," Caroline answered irately, pupils dilating and shrinking as she compelled her teacher. "I think you'll find that my focus is just fine without spending three hours of my afternoon with you. Now carry on."

Mrs Wilkes returned to her desk, and began scribbling something on a piece of paper.

Elena's eyes caught Caroline's - and they were wary.

Mrs Wilkes returned, and slammed down the red detention slip.

"I think you'll find that I don't appreciate smart-aleck comments such as those, nor do I anymore appreciate being treated as your inferior."

Caroline felt sick to the pit of her stomach.

She looked to Elena, who mouthed a questioning, but discrete _'vervain?'_.

"I don't know what Mr Saltzman was like, but let's get one thing clear," Mrs Wilkes announced, marching up to the front of the classroom and facing them all, though her eyes returned to Caroline's chair most often. "You're in your Senior Year; you don't fall in line, and do the work that I give you - the practice exams, the study…? Then worst case scenario, you fail. And I won't have that. I won't be a failure - and neither will you guys. So, unless you're prepared to pull your finger out, then I suggest that this isn't the class for you, and you go and revise your subject blocking with the front office. I don't know; maybe there's an opening in a specialist maths class with four times the workload and negative-five times the interest. But you show up to my classes, you do the work required…? Then I think we'll all get along just fine. Am I clear?"

The sullen class gave no response.

"Am I clear?" She demanded.

"Yes," Caroline heard herself murmur in chorus along with the rest of the class.

When Mrs Wilkes turned to the board once more, transferring notes from a book she took up from her desk, Caroline heard a low chuckle; too low for human ears to register. Her eyes snuck sideways, to Tyler.

"What?" She probed under her breath.

Despite where they stood with each other, he smiled at her. "It's just that…that's going to be a bit hard for us."

Caroline stared ahead, though still attentively listening to him, and she responded lowly with. "What's going to be hard?"

"We've got to - inevitably - have the worst, patchiest attendance record in the history of this school."

Caroline felt her lips tug upwards. "It's a miracle we passed last year."

"No. My mother is the Mayor-"

She turned stone cold at his words, and her eyes met his.

"Was," Tyler quickly corrected, though she saw the evident grief in his black irises. "Anyway," he dismissed. "She may have said a few things."

Caroline supported him in his effort to stray from the thought of his mother. "This town is so rigged. And I'm pretty sure I failed that algebra test that Mr Rotor aced me for."

"Caroline Forbes!"

She jolted in her seat. "Mrs Wilkes!" She yelled back, smiling sweetly.

The bell shrilled.

Everyone shuffled their books into piles and clutched them against their chests as they hurriedly tried to make an exit.

"Miss Forbes," Mrs Wilkes called sternly before the blonde could make a swift exit.

Caroline only slowed half a step. "Mandatory memorial service - and I need to be there for my friend. Whatever you want from me...it can wait."

The young history teacher reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking it with surprisingly more force than Caroline had anticipated.

"Got some muscle on you, hey?" The blonde vampire yanked her arm back with a little more force than necessary.

Mrs Wilkes narrowed her eyes. "I'm a rower."

"And a lesbian too, I assume?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Caroline tossed her hair, and grimaced, looking out the door after her friends. "We've all heard stories about rowers…" She went to follow them, but halted again when the teacher responded.

"How could you have?" Mrs Wilkes scoffed. "It's not like any rowing clubs exist around here."

"I keep myself well-informed."

Mrs Wilkes rolled her eyes. "Point of interest, Miss Forbes...what is it that you do? That's right"- she clasped her hands together -"you twirl around like Disney princesses with pom-poms, to outdated pop music and chants from _Bring It On_." Her head cocked to the side slightly. "You were saying?"

"At least you can tell the difference between a guy and a cheerleader," Caroline answered snidely, her patience wearing thin. "Now, I'm sure you'd love to continue this obvious competition to prove your worth and status over an eighteen year-old, but the memorial for my boyfriend's mother is just about to begin. I need to be there for him." She made for the door.

"You mean ex-boyfriend?"

Heart dropping to the pit of her stomach, she looked over her shoulder, blank with surprise. "How...?"

Mrs Wilkes round, green eyes narrowed. "I keep myself well informed."

**- TVD -**

The car cut off smoothly, the humming of its insides slowing, and the fan that blew within the motor to cool it, blaring after the journey it had just made. Klaus leant back into his seat.

He'd told Caroline that he was leaving - and that much was true, but he had a few loose ends to tie up first. Not only did have to organise for a house to be opened where he had decided to go, but preparations had to be made for his own home, before he could take off. He had no idea how long he would be gone for.

And, of course, there were the _other_ arrangements. Namely, those concerning the Hunter.

Spotting a blotch of crimson on his jeans, he rubbed it into the dark fabric with a thumb. If there were anything positive to take from his _ordea_l of "separation" - at least she he wouldn't have to face her with yet another indiscretion weighing down on his shoulders.

Staring out at the grey lake, he rested his elbow on the car door, flesh pressing against the cold glass of the window. _Just get it over and done with,_ he told himself, and his hand sought the handle. Slamming the door behind him, he strolled around to the front of the house, where Jeremy and Matt downed mouthfuls of water, and Damon looked on with a bored, yet somewhat pained expression.

"Working hard I see?" Klaus interceded, raising his eyebrows with wry sarcasm.

Damon's eyes met Jeremy and Matt's for a moment, seemingly apologetic. "Two laps around the lake," he ordered, turned slowly to face Klaus.

"Damon-" Jeremy went to protest, but Matt's arm constricted him.

Exhaling sharply, Jeremy led the way down a gravel track.

Damon cleared his throat. "What do you want, nemesis?"

Klaus cocked his head to the side. "We're giving each other nicknames now?"

Damon grimaced. "Couldn't say your name without choking on it. Now, what do you want?"

"There's a bar full of vampires in town, compelled to go after Matt and Jeremy. I'd say you have another class on _Hunter's Survival Skills_ before the sun sets. Two vampires that I sired half a century ago, will meet you when Jeremy has completed his mark."

Damon threw his head back and moaned. "I thought I smelt blood." He looked at Klaus with narrowed eyes. "Just couldn't stay out of it, could you?"

Klaus smirked. "There was no possible way you could have completed the Hunter's mark going on as you were."

The dark hair vampire furrowed a brow. "Elaborate."

"Well," the Original taunted, "you want to be good for Elena. You wanted to go through this whole process, having made sure that you had as little blood on your hands as possible. So your girl wouldn't hate on you for it, if you did hurt a few too many."

Damon had no response; Klaus was right. After a moment, he spoke up however. "So what is it that you've done?"

Klaus leaned against a tree not far behind him. "There's a bar full of _turning-to-be_ vampires that have just woken up - the human I left at their disposal has very kindly offered up her arm as a blood-bank. When the sun sets, they'll go after Jeremy and Matt - if he can't protect the quarter-back, then he dies. Simple as that; call it…motivation for success, if you like."

Damon groaned lowly. "Thank you, for being so evil."

"Someone had to do it."

"No," Damon contradicted, sitting down on the picnic table behind him. "You do bad things to be a dick. There could have been another way to do this."

"Debatable; I'm speeding up the process. It's for the greater good."

"No," the elder Salvatore repeated, voice exasperated slightly. "You don't consult before you do things. You don't check to see if there's any other available option."

"But you admit, it's a good idea; what I've done?"

Damon cleared his throat, and looked about himself for a moment. "Yes," he finally answered, through his teeth.

"See?" Klaus concluded quietly, and made for his car.

Damon followed.

There was a long silence between the two, as they looked across the lake to where Matt and Jeremy's heads bobbed rhythmically at a steady pace.

"You look like hell," Damon stated dryly, breaking the ice. "I mean, I'd ask why so pouty…if I gave two shits."

"Which you obviously don't," Klaus coughed.

Damon shrugged, and motioned for Klaus to share - though it was apparent that he didn't care.

Klaus grimaced. "I'm going away for a little while."

Damon placed his fingers over his mouth, mocking a gasp. "Shattered. Who's going to fill your serial killer shoes for next week's episode of Criminal Minds: Mystic Falls?"

Klaus yanked open his car door. "Don't let Elena get herself into anything remotely suicidal while I'm gone," he said through his teeth instead. "Dopplegangers aren't something we have plenty off nowadays. _Two_, to be exact."

Any hint mischief was gone from Damon's face, when he replied with, "I will always protect her. She knows that."

Klaus paused, and leant against the door. "She trusts you so completely."

"I haven't really given her a reason not to, as of late." Damon watched Klaus skeptically. "And it's not because of the sire bond; that's only a fraction of it," he defended before Klaus could voice his thoughts.

But Klaus wasn't done. "Yet she forgives you for your indiscretions? The reality is, that you've given her plenty of reasons and opportunities to lose faith in you. How is it she manages to overlook every horrific thing you have ever done? Is it willful ignorance or perhaps a bit more pathological?"

"Some people are just more capable of forgiveness than others." He rose an eyebrow. "I bet you score about a negative five-hundred in that realm."

"Still, when you've done so much to betray her confidence in you?" His eyes swept to the gravel a moment. "And you're right, to some extent; it isn't the sire bond," he mumbled, "because I remember her having faith in you before she turned."

Damon's eyes lit up, comprehending.

"This isn't about Elena," he chuckled, rolling his eyes.

Klaus turned a hard eye on him.

Damon placed him palms up defensively. "Easy."

The hybrid's mouth twisted into a thin line.

The elder Salvatore shoved his hands in his pockets. "I think that this has something to do with a certain blonde vampire."

Klaus' face was a mask of marble.

"I think you murdered Carol Lockwood," Damon surmised - rather, _stated_, his eyes narrowing. "And I think you're worried that Caroline's never going to forgive you."

"You've done worse," was all Klaus could manage.

"Debatable." Damon's hands left his pockets, and he folded them across his chest. "I don't mind being the bad guy because someone has to fill the role to get things done. You do bad things for no reason. You do them to be a dick."

Klaus mouth pinched. "Debatable," he said lowly. "And she's already forgiven me," he added swiftly, although he knew his answer wasn't entirely true.

Damon's expression didn't alter, if anything, it grew colder. "How do you _know_?"

No word passed Klaus' lips.

Damon laughed dryly. "No. You_ think_ that she's forgiven you - I mean, are you together yet? No. Will you ever be together? Probably not." He averted Klaus' dark, menace of a stare, and dared to continue. "Deep down, in that cold, beating heart of yours, you know why she hasn't forgiven you."

Worth, Klaus thought hollowly. Through his teeth, he denounced aloud, "What makes you so much more worth forgiving?"

"You're missing the point," Damon sighed, shaking his head."And I already told you. This isn't about_ me_. I didn't murder Carol, _you_ did."

Damon shrugged, and looked off a kilometre away, to where the boys panted rhythmically like a unit. "Look," Damon said, as he went to walk towards their finish line. "If you are going to be bad be bad with purpose. Otherwise you are just not worth forgiving." Sarcastically saluting, Damon then walked off.

Klaus stared ahead at the grey lake once more, his mind heavier with more thoughts than when he had first arrived. Breaking out of his trance as the boys reached Damon a hundred metres away, Klaus got in his car, turned onto the main road, and didn't look back.

**- TVD -**

"Bonnie!" Caroline weaved in between the flux of students. "_Bennet!_ Bonnie Bennet!"

Her pretty friend turned at last, her face twisted.

Caroline slowed. "You okay?"

"Depressed. Annoyed." The young witch put a hand on her forehead. "Exhausted - but hey - what else am I gonna do?" The hand dropped. "He's my dad. Biologically programmed to love him, right? But I just…he hasn't been around, y'know?" She ranted. "I just can't deal with it-"

"Do you wanna come back to my house for a bit-"

Bonnie went to sigh, but the sound of someone clearing their throat off to the side, made her pause.

"Bonnie."

The two girls turned their heads very slowly.

Rudy Hopkins stood to their side, face emotionless. "Time to go home."

"I'm going to Caroline's-" she began to object.

"Time to go home," he repeated, voice hard.

Bonnie shared an apologetic look with Caroline. "I'll call you."

While Caroline grimaced, as soon as the pair walked away, she smiled; _'I'll call you'_ translated to _'I'll sneak out'_. She was bursting to share her inner turmoil about Klaus, and she wasn't sure Elena was ready to hear something like that yet - firstly, because she, Caroline, had been so hypocritical about the new vamp's relationship with Damon, and secondly...she was pretty sure Elena hated Klaus with every fibre in her body.

And Bonnie could just be more understanding, at times.

Not that she, Caroline could talk. She chuckled in spite of herself.

Making it to her locker ease now that the halls had emptied of students, when her hand clasped the dial, a crash down the hall made her start. Staring down the linoleum passageway, she was flung harshly against the lockers before she had time to respond.

Staring up at her attacker in a dazed state, her stomach churned.

"You're late for detention," the assailant said in her smooth English accent.

"Rebekah."

The blonde Original grabbed her around the throat.

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**_you like? let me know! :) i'll update asap. x  
_**


	7. Despondence

thought i'd be awesome and leave you with a **huge** chapter to make up for the 2 week wait ;) please read and review lovelies - it did take me all day to edit! xx

[LITTLE SPOILER FOR **4X18** IN HERE (if you can pick it up) YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]

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**7. Despondence**

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_"One does nothing who tries to console a despondent person with word. A friend is one who aids with deeds at a critical time when deeds are called for."_  
- Euripides

"Niklaus you can't leave," Elijah pleaded.

Klaus looked at his brother, and then at the waiting car.

"You can't run away from your problems."

"I'm not running away from anything," Klaus answered tiredly, opening the car door. "I'm doing the right thing - for once."

That took Elijah back a little; it hadn't been an enraged defence. It sounded almost…defeated.

The moral vampire battled internally, before crossing the line that could arbitrate the whole situation. "You can't leave Caroline."

Klaus turned his head very slowly. "This is for her."

His older brother stepped forward. "You've never let anyone have the upper hand over you before - why now? Rebekah loves you; she'll come around, you'll see."

"Not until after she's killed Caroline, _or_ I'm no longer around, so she can get to the cure before no one else can, keep it to herself, and prevent Elena-"

"You're putting that girl in more danger if you stay away…"

Klaus eyes darkened, revealing the true intentions that his normally honest brother would not. "_Which_ girl?"

Elijah looked down, and exhaled sharply, caught out. But he saved himself with, "Both."

**- TVD -**

Caroline had her head buried in her elbow on the table.

Stefan's face was in his hands. Elena chewed her lip.

They had all been sitting in the library for the last hour or so, compelled to keep their bottoms glued to their seats. Rebekah had exhausted every sliver of information from the trio regarding the cure, and had taunted Elena to reveal her true feelings about Damon - knifing Stefan in the heart.

The room was thick with tension, and the three seated vampires were beyond pins-and-needles in their legs.

Caroline's eyes stared into her navy denim sleeve, until she heard Tyler begin to walk away. She lifted her head.

"Tyler," Rebekah called flatly - boredly.

He didn't stop.

Rebekah gripped his shirt, and yanked him. The sound of grinding, stretching cotton was what made Tyler halt, and turn.

She turned her head to the side, and looked him in the eye. "I want you to go after them," she compelled, smiling slightly. "Go werewolf on their sorry little behinds. Are we clear?"

Tyler's eyes narrowed. "That wasn't the plan," he growled. "You said we were going to get back at Klaus, not avenge your petty little feelings."

Rebekah gripped him around the throat. "Hybrid you may be, but my equal you are not. Turn, wolf. Or I'll kill your girlfriend here and now, don't think that I won't. Then there'll be nothing in it for you. They are a means to an end; that is all."

Tyler's gaze flickered to Caroline.

"He can't, he'll lose control!" Caroline exclaimed, panic rising in her chest.

"But that's what you want, now - isn't it Tyler?" Rebekah asked.

Tyler took a deep breath, and his eyes slowly narrowed. "Yes."

"Now," Rebekah announced. "Stay in the building. No vamp running in the hallways."

"What the hell?" Caroline demanded. "What's wrong with you?"

"I've exhausted every piece of information from you-"

Caroline tried to strike a chord with her. "But you don't want him to bite Stefan, not when you're obsessed wi-?"

"Maybe you're right. He's pretty smart; older, faster - he'll find a way out of this. But I have no care in the world for you two what so ever. The world would be much brighter without Elena's whining; two brothers would rekindle their relationship. And you, sweetness? Your death would ensure my brother would be eternally alone." Rebekah leaned over Caroline. "No one needs you. And I now have Shane. You're nothing but competition; whoever finds the cure first, gets to decide what they want to do with it - use it, share it, destroy it…save it. I want that person to be me." She sauntered over to Tyler. "Turn," she ordered once more, and departed the room.

All three pairs of eyes focussed on Tyler. He stared back at them, and a fleck of gold shone in his irises.

"Go," he ordered. "Get a head start. I won't be able to stop once I catch you."

"Tyler," Caroline pleaded. "Don't turn. Fight it."

"Go!" He yelled.

The three vampires pushed through the library doors and ran, the sound of Tyler's transformation crashing and echoing in their wake.

Elena and Stefan disappeared to her right. She took off to the left. Running as fast as a human speed would allow, Caroline found herself gripping the door handle of the Drama _Blackbox_ theatre.

Entering the room, she cringed when her footsteps echoed in the large empty space. Straining her eyes, she tried see through the room, with its black walls, roof and floor. There was a light switch somewhere, but she wasn't a theatrical student; she had no idea. Instead, she turned and backed up, until she bumped against the rear wall of the room, her palms flattening against the plaster wall.

Time elapsed. She stood in the darkness, every sense on hyper alert, until she was sure it was safe enough to step out of her cover. Hands out in front of her, cutting through the darkness, she walked through the spacious black room. All too suddenly, her toe struck something, and a metal bin tipped, collapsing.

It crashed loudly.

She felt about on the ground to see what it was. Her fingers wrapped around something long and metal. It wasn't sharp - but it could be, with enough force. She stood with the aluminium prop in her hands, moving them down to the sword's handle. She continued carefully to the door. Finding it at last, she opened it - very slowly, very slightly.

Not hearing anything, she opened it fully.

In the dim light of the hallway, its gold eyes pierced right through her.

Tyler-wolf's gums lifted over a set of jagged, white teeth, and a growl rumbled deep within his body.

Caroline had little time to react. She had been compelled against running. She only had the dark space behind her.

He flew towards her.

Knocked back to the hard floor, Caroline exerted every ounce of energy she could to fight off the hybrid's attack. In the midst of her fall, the sword had fallen to her side. As she held off Tyler's snaps, her leg sought out the weapon.

Heart pounding in her ears as she felt it with her foot, she pushed it up with every cramping muscle in her body. Soon it was close enough, that its handle was within reach of her finger: if only she could spare a hand.

Her panicking brain weighed down the options very quickly.

But only one invaded her thoughts like a black poison.

She had to kill him.

If she reached out for the sword, it had to be a swift motion; a grab, and slice of the head. That, or she would be bitten - torn to shreds. If Tyler had been in his human form, and bitten her, that would have been it. As a wolf, he had lost control; and wolves only tore apart their vampire victims; they did not sip the wine, and leave the rest of the bottle.

A sob rose in her throat, the tears penetrating her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ty," she cried. "I'm so sorry."

He snarled, and snapped still.

She took as deep a breath as she could manage, and, yelling with the effort it took to hold him off with one hand alone, she grasped the aluminium sword. She went to cut into his neck.

But in a matter of seconds, it was over.

She'd missed her chance.

His teeth split the flesh at the base of her throat, in one, swift nip.

A gust of air blew into the dark room.

"No!" A familiar voice yelled, and Tyler wailed, wavering over her, whimpering and whining. His warm blood spilled onto her shirt and jeans as he slid off of her.

She sat up.

The shadow of a man stood over her, framed by the dying light of the day, through the frame of the open door behind him.

In a moment, strong hands slid behind her back, and lifted her. Then, she was in his arms.

They flew out of the room, and didn't stop until they reached the foyer of the building.

Her saviour set her down on her feet, his fingers gripping her arms, fearful that she would collapse.

"Elijah?" She gasped breathlessly.

He watched her with wide, urgent eyes. "Are you alright?"

Her hand rose to her blood-smeared chest, and she looked down at her jeans. "It's his blood. Not mine," she lied. "I'm okay."

"I have to go and get Stefan and Elena," he told her, his tone still urgent. "Stay here. Promise me you won't move?"

She nodded numbly, and he disappeared.

She hadn't _really_ promised. Her eyes drifted to the female bathroom. Stumbling through its door, her hands fumbled around a tap. Water spilled through. But it wasn't water; it was acid.

Screeching in pain, she fell back against a cubicle.

_Vervain._

There was vervain in the water.

The school's water supply came from the town supply.

Amongst the adrenaline that still coursed through her veins and brain, she comprehended.

Mrs Wilkes had resisted compulsion; unless she was a hunter, or a master of the mind like Caroline's own father had been…that was how she had resisted compulsion. Tearing paper-towel from its dispenser, Caroline stared at her own reflection; beyond the grave, she looked like a murder victim that had been revived - straight from the crime scene of their death. Wiping some of the blood from her chest, and realising that there was nothing she could do about her clothes, Caroline pulled her jacket collar over the small, manifesting wound on her neck. Leaving the bathroom, she ran down an adjacent hall - straight to her locker.

Caroline's fingers trembled, as she wound the dial on her lock. When it gave, she shoved aside loose papers, lip-glosses, a bronzer, and felt for the material at the rear of the pigeon-hole. Accidentally grasping her spare shirt instead, she tossed it to the top shelf, and retrieved the navy scarf she kept for days when the spare shirt was needed; an accessory to make the emergency item of clothing classy enough. Today, however, it would double as both a bandage and concealer.

"Caroline!" Elijah stood at the end of the hall.

She hastily wrapped the item of clothing around her neck, biting her cheeks to hide a whimper at the discomfort the normally soft material created, as it caused friction with the wound.

"Have Stefan and Elena gone?"

He nodded. "Yes."

Caroline pulled a spare USB stick she kept stowed away in her locker. She twisted it around her finger, and flashed it at him. "I was getting this before your sister jumped me over an hour ago," she grimaced. "Speaking of - where is she?"

Elijah rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. "Pulling the chair leg out of her chest, I assume," he grunted. "I can imagine that I will be paying for that in the near future."

"Nonsense," Caroline disagreed. "You saved us; you're sister's the sinner in this case. You did what you had to do."

**- TVD -**

She was on the floor when they reentered the main foyer of the school, a bloodied chair leg in hand.

"You killed me," Rebekah gasped, standing in a flash, and hurtling the piece of wood at her brother, who caught it neatly.

"You deserved it," Elijah replied, voice thin with growing impatience. "I really cannot believe you - and I can't believe Kol aided you either; but, of course he would have. Anything to stir up trouble." He stood before her, and lifted the stake in a flash.

Rebekah cringed, waiting for the pain that wasn't going to come. When she realised her brother wasn't moving, she said, "I did what I had to do."

"You interrogated us," Caroline argued, anger boiling within. "You hurt Stefan; you compelled Elena to say stuff that he didn't need to know; truths that broke his heart all over again. Wasn't once enough?"

"Nevertheless, they were truths," Rebekah defended lightly, in spite of herself. "At least now he knows - and can move on."

For a moment, the only sound in the empty space was the echo of the slap that the blonde Original received from her older brother.

"You put the lives of three, decent, good people in danger, Rebekah," Elijah hissed. "All for your games. All for the benefit of yourself. You. _You_. When will it ever change? This selfishness. This repulsiveness?" He threw the wood leg behind him, and patted his blazer pocket.

Both girls saw the bulge of a dagger.

"Start talking," Elijah threatened. "I'm at my wits' end with you."

This was no lie - it was evident, even to Caroline, how much he was.

Rebekah's eyes widened both fearfully, and incredulously. "Do you know what Elena Gilbert has done to me? How everyone is bending over backwards to save the life of the girl who is responsible for screwing up everyone else's'?"

"You _killed_ her, Rebekah. She is a vampire! I think you've taken away just enough already! All she did was stick a dagger in you - it's not as if you're an avenging ghost for crying out loud! You're still_ alive_!" Elijah snapped. "How much longer are you going to carry out your revenge? Your _jealously_ towards her, because she has so many people that love her? When will it _end_?"

"She has everything!" Rebekah practically screamed. "I have _nothing_. I'm your sister. Why won't you side with _me_? Help me put our brother down? Or something, for heaven's sakes! Bloody _anything_!"

Elijah began to walk away, but Rebekah gripped his arm.

"I wasn't the only person with a motive tonight. He and I failed, so why does it matter? Why do you still hate on me?"

Caroline's head hurt, trying to keep up with the words that the brother and sister flung at each other.

"The fact that you'll try again!" Elijah snarled."That you won't_ learn_. Why do you think I've been too ashamed to show my face around here? Your all grizzle an carry on like five-year-old's."

"Every person here tonight-"

"Ugh, just stop it with the crap!" Caroline cried out. "This is absolute shit! You're running around in desperate little circles like a psychotic hamster on a wheel! I absolutely doubt that I was only collateral damage tonight - you wanted to hurt me because I'm important to your brother. I'm not retarded. Elena, because she has what you don't, and you're so _lonely_. And _desperate_. And _jealous _that Stefan loves her, and not you!" Her hands balled into fists. "But why hurt, and involve Stefan? Is it because of that - that he loves her? That he _unwillingly_ helped Klaus dagger you? He doesn't like hurting you, and you know it." She stomped forward a step. "And what of Tyler, as well? He hasn't done anything to you! I mean, sure he's gone after your brother, but isn't that what you wanted anyway...?"

Though Rebekah was visibly shaken by Caroline's outburst, she replied surprisingly evenly with, "We had a common interest, your boy and I." Rebekah stepped toward the younger vampire. "Tonight, _I_ only had plans for _Elena_."

Rebekah's choice of wording spun around in Caroline's head like a spider on its web that had just been knocked.

"But that wasn't the plan; Nik left so you wouldn't do it. You're lying through your teeth-" Elijah interceded in a growl, his arm reaching out protectively behind him, shielding Caroline.

"When have I ever been one to have a single plan?" Rebekah contradicted, eyes narrowing. "The plan changed."

A cold shiver slid down Caroline's spine.

"I wouldn't be so heartless as to take away the first person that he's loved in a thousand years," Rebekah added, cleaning her impeccable nails. "I realised that when I knew that Nik wouldn't do the same to me. Besides, after what I learned from the kids tonight, it's no longer my _diabolical_ motive. Or at least, not for now."

"He killed Alexander," Elijah reminded her coldly.

They spoke of it as if it had happened ten years ago, not some six-hundred or so. Caroline felt she was only barely beginning to understand Klaus' advice about adjusting one's perception of time once they became a vampire.

To this, Rebekah's response was almost inaudible. "Once. Out of the many times that I have loved another too easily."

For a moment, a flicker of compassion wavered over Elijah's face. "He's done it to you; what's to stop you from doing the same in return? You've never had an issue with being a sheep, sister," he pointed out. "But he killed Alexander to protect us. He eradicated The Five to _protect us. _What would killing Elena and Caroline prove?"

Caroline shuddered. But she knew what Elijah was doing. It was like a trial; once he found her guilty, he had a reason to deal with her. He was going to exhaust it out of her, and then dissuade her. If he could get the truth out of Rebekah...Klaus could come home.

Her heart jumped.

_He could come home,_ she thought, as her heart-rate quickened.

Rebekah's face grew red with rage, her pretentious cover blown - again. "There would be no hybrids if Elena was gone! And if Caroline had bloody died tonight like she was supposed to, it would have been in the name of preserving what's left of this family! A reality bitch-slap in the face for our brother, so you seem to be _trying_ to remind me." She shouted, her tone of voice escalating with every lung-full of air.

Despite herself, surprise hit her like a tone of bricks. "Bitch," Caroline coughed - which made her body ache.

Rebekah normally blue eyes, were black. "Like I said, I wanted Elena dead. Someone else called for your pretty little head tonight. It wasn't my decision," she sneered. "I didn't make the call; I just didn't disagree with it."

But Elijah was already on a different wavelength, his mind elsewhere. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Our brother couldn't live with himself if he could not avenge his lover's death - especially not if her killer was already dead."

"We're not lovers," Caroline interceded in a dry mutter, rolling her shoulders uncomfortably at his old-fashioned manner.

Elijah continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Always sacrificing others, aren't you?" He said in a low, cracking voice. "Niklaus would have never served you true death as a consequence - he loves you too much. But anyone else, and he would have gladly avenged her death with her murderer's."

"Tyler was going after me," Caroline spoke up from behind Elijah's shoulder, but it was more so a verbalised recognition. "Your brother literally pulled him before his teeth broke through my skin."

Rebekah shrugged boredly. "It was a proposition Tyler gladly accepted."

Caroline was gutted.

There was a long silence, before Rebekah barely whispered, eyes hard. "Setting out to kill you - at the end of the day, was his own choice. I wanted him to kill Elena, and he thought weaving you into the whole equation would cripple my brother even more than the loss of a doppleganger."

Caroline shook her head. "He wouldn't…"

"When your friends killed him, for killing you, death would have been a kindness to him." She turned to Elijah. "I won't kill our brother," she declared in monotonous, but trembling voice. Her eyes welled. "I don't wish him _dead again_, Elijah. You of all should know that best. I just want him to _hurt_," she elaborated through her teeth. "And he would have - if he couldn't avenge Caroline's death, and then have no hybrids from Elena after that. He'd have _nothing_ left. No one to kill slowly. Just _hurt_. And _pain_."

"You keep on going on as if I'm somehow the truth redeems you," Elijah answered, although both of the girls could see that his response was half-hearted. They knew that he was being won over by his little sister's words.

Rebekah pushed it just that little bit further with, "I'm your little _sister_." Tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. "Where is your _loyalty_?"

"Do not dishonour me!" Elijah yelled - so loudly, so fiercely, and so unexpectedly, that Caroline jumped back half a metre. "You know that I love you but you're _testing_ it!"

"If we find this cure - which _they _will, Klaus will have his hybrids. Elena will be human, and he will have his army," Rebekah snarled. "I wanted to take that away from him not only so I could take it myself, but so he would know what it felt like, to be _vulnerable_. To appreciate the only family he has left," she snapped. "You know we need to get rid of the girl, and Caroline, so he only has us. It's the only way it will be as it once was."

"This plotting. This scheming. You've had a thousand years to grow up and you haven't even tried!" He scolded, enraged.

"Sorry for disappointing you!"

"No you're not. You're words aren't worth anything to me, anymore. God forbid you find this cure either; you're just as bad as each other."

Rebekah appeared suddenly remorseful. "Elijah-"

"It's a _disgrace_." He pushed past her, pulling Caroline gently along with him.

Those three words visibly wounded Rebekah. _Disgrace_ gutted into her harder than the daggers that so often took residence in her chest. Feigning a hard cover, she swallowed and stared down her elder brother determinedly."Tell me where Niklaus is."

"Why do you really want him? You can run along and find the cure now. He's gone." Elijah said.

Rebekah exhaled very slowly. "Plan 'B' is to put him down long enough, so that I may find the cure, take it for myself and then hide it from him. From Elena. So he can never have his back-up family; so he will have to learn to accept and appreciate the one he has. I've wanted this cure for five hundred years. You don't honestly think that I wouldn't have a back-up plan, did you?" She moved closer towards him again. "We can do this. Together, Elijah."

"I won't help you."

That was the final straw. "I'm better off without you anyway," she cried, tears forming in her eyes once again. "I want a life - a _human_ life. Our brother has caused us all so much pain and has taken us for granted too many times to count. He killed me, once again, for loving too easily - because he knew that I would get in the way of his master plan. But it doesn't matter, right? No matter how much I scheme and plan, I will always be the loser. He will always win. And you let him get away with it."

Elijah's eyes were cold with disrespect. He shook his head, and yanked open the front door, storming out into the cold.

When Caroline went to follow him, Rebekah's menacing words made her pause with her hand on the door handle.

"Mark my words," she snarled. "You have a habit of turning people against me - my brothers, even Stefan-"

"You're delusional. You do that yourself," Caroline muttered, raising her chin.

"And they all _love_ you," Rebekah continued darkly. "As darling and sweet as you may be, I hate your guts. So does your boyfriend. But Niklaus really loves you. Just think about what kind of position that puts you in, sweetness. I wouldn't sleep well tonight, if I were you."

"You're just full of hate!" Caroline exclaimed breathlessly, then continuing lowly with, "You don't think I can see how desperate you are? A heart full of hate only consumes itself. Threaten me all you like, but you're your own catalyst."

Rebekah's eyes were black with anger. "If you stay, Tyler Lockwood and Elena Gilbert won't be the only orphans in this town," she threatened, voice shaking. "My temper is worse than my brother's, mind you. Considering Tyler couldn't kill you off tonight, a life on the run is punishment enough. Speaking of - if Kol and Tyler so much as sniff you out...you're dead." She stepped closer, her eyes - though hard, they were very obviously dark with hurt. "Don't fool yourself into thinking that I won't hold to it. Kol's bored - don't think that he won't enjoy it. And your boyfriend? He would never let you make it within a thousand miles of my brother." She stepped backwards, her face narrower than usual with bitterness. "I will give you two days grace." She turned, and flew out the opposite side of the building.

Caroline's heart fell, as her hand subconsciously raised to her wounded throat. Amidst the uproar of the two Mikaelson family members, she had all but forgotten the manifesting bite.

She wouldn't even have two days grace; a werewolf's bite was always more deadly when they were fully turned, Tyler had once told her.

Rebekah would get what she wanted within a couple of hours.

It was a long moment before Caroline could push open the door and meet Elijah out to his car.

**- TVD -**

Elijah cut the engine outside the Forbes residence, and turned to the blonde vampire. "I'm sorry about my sister-" he began to apologise, but Caroline shook her head.

"Don't worry about it," she said hoarsely. "Thank God her thirst for vengeance isn't a family trait that you inherited, though."

"I wouldn't speak too soon," Elijah laughed wryly, and got out of the car, speeding around to open Caroline's for her. "But really - you will be alright," he assured her. "So long as I'm here - until this whole storm blows over - I will look out for you."

He walked her to her front door.

"I know that you're doing this for Elena," Caroline said slowly. "But…thank you."

Elijah smiled sadly. "It's not only for her," he revealed, pausing after he finished talking.

Caroline cocked her head, ignoring the stab of pain from her throat as she did so. "Why are you doing this? Helping Klaus?"

Elijah stared right into her eyes. "I'm not."

Caroline gaped. "But-"

"There's always going to be more than one party after the treasure - that's a given. Never underestimate that there will always be more than two. It's the axiom of treasure hunting, Caroline."

The blonde vampire exhaled shortly, surprise tightening her chest. "You're after the cure too?" She breathed.

Elijah pressed his index finger to his lips, and looked to the trees, humour glittering in his eyes. "Shh. Don't you know? Those two have spies everywhere."

Caroline laughed, and then wrapped her arms around her torso. She hesitated, before whispering sadly, "Where is Klaus?"

Elijah's breath clouded the air, as he deliberated. "He's gone, Caroline." His head turned to the side slightly, and he murmured softly, "But you already knew that."

Caroline stared at the wooden porch beneath his feet. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

She was surprised when a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Don't hold you breath," Elijah answered sadly, rubbing her arm, before he left her.

Alone, Caroline turned her house key in its lock, and slipped inside very quietly, as not to wake her mother. Much to her surprise, however, when she passed her mother's room on the way to her own, the door was slightly ajar, the bed made, and no sign of recent occupation.

Caroline retrieved the landline phone, and her fingers swept across the buttons, punching in her mother's number.

"Care?" The sound of her mother's voice flooded warmth through her aching body.

"Mom. Where are you?"

"I'm working late with Geoffrey tonight."

Tom Geoffrey was second in command beneath Liz; he'd only recently been brought into Mystic Falls' Force - only a month before Carol's death. He was an experienced man with a good rep in the law enforcement industry, and thus, had been snapped up by the town's dwindling population. In his late forties, the police officer had lost his wife to cancer, leaving him with a son and daughter who lived with him all year now - with the exception of the holidays, where they split time between the maternal and paternal grandparents. Originally, Tom had struggled so much that the kids had lived with the grandparents full-time; that was, until he decided to make the move to Mystic Falls.

Gradually, Caroline had been seeing less of her mother - Liz had seemed to have taken on the responsibility of helping out with Tom's children; both were under ten, and had lost their mother only two years before. Little children weren't as temperamental as old ones, Caroline figured, when it came to accepting new parental figures. Wary, and a little stubborn at first, but not impossible like young adolescents were.

Like she remembered being, towards Steven.

The Geoffrey's had moved to Mystic Falls in search of a fresh start.

Caroline wished that she could have warned them as far away as possible - but she was selfish; she knew that her mother was happy, and she wanted that for her. Even if it did seem a bit strange - living as the eldest, only child her whole life, with the exception of Steven's daughter; but she had made no movement to connect, or contact the girl once her father had died, and neither had they spoken much at all when Bill was alive. Nevertheless, the prospect of an extended family was appealing.

Not that she be around to see it.

Standing in the hallway at the present, Caroline stared at a wall-mirror hanging before her.

"Will you be staying the night again?" She asked her mother.

There was a short silence. "The kids have _Book-Week _dress up tomorrow."

Caroline smiled softly to herself. "You're making costumes, aren't you?"

The subtle joy was evident in Liz's voice, when she replied, "Yes."

Staring into her troubled blue eyes, she heard the sound of children laughing on the other end of the phone. She sighed.

"Caroline - are you okay honey?"

The blonde vampire nodded - though her mother had no way of seeing. She swallowed hard. "I should, um, let you go Mom. You're no doubt pretty busy-"

"There's leftover lasagne in the fridge, and you can take some money from the old coffee jar next to the phone for lunch tomorrow," her mother told her, tone evidently apologetic. "I'm so sorry I'm away again, Care."

Caroline stared up at the ceiling and blinked. "It's fine. Really."

"Thank you, beautiful girl. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you, Mom."

Liz paused on the other end of the line, and she replied slowly, lovingly, "I love you too. Sweet dreams." Blocks away, her mother blew a kiss at the phone, and hung up.

Caroline pressed the phone to her ear, listening to the cold trill of the dial tone for what felt like hours. When a tree close to the house began scraping against the living room window in the wind, however - her trance was broken. She pressed the red button, and returned the phone to its cradle. In the kitchen, she opened the fridge door - and paused. Staring down at the freezer, she pulled that draw open instead. Her hands dove into the assortment of icy foods, and she dug beneath the packets of peas and wrapped meat. Feeling a wave of relief, she pulled out the rock-solid drink bottle. Twisting the cap off, she tentatively pressed her tongue to the ice.

Vervain free.

She closed the freezer and popped the plastic bottle in the microwave. Watching as it weltered in the radiation, in no time it had melted enough, and she took the sweating bottle in her hands. Flicking off the kitchen lights, and taking a small towel from the hallway cupboard, she went to turn off the lights in the hall too - but paused in front of the mirror.

She sat down the bottle and towel.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled away the scarf slowly.

Trying to forget was useless. Pretending that it wasn't there, would only make death so much more of a surprise.

A purple, red, manifesting wound oozed around a pulsating artery on her throat, the burning sensation increasing from the irritation of brushing over it, when she had pulled the scarf. Blinking, and swallowing at a painful lump in her throat, she looked at the mirror once more, before tearing her eyes away from the glass, and making her way towards her bedroom with her things. Setting the melting bottle and towel on her dresser, and sticking her dying phone into it's charger beside her bed, she founding herself falling back onto the white duvet. Exhaling, her exhausted mind wavered.

What would it be like? Would she just drift off? Would their be pain…hallucinating? Last time she had weakened very quickly, and had only just reached hallucinations when Klaus…

"_Saved my life_," she whispered aloud. She wanted to forget, so badly, the other half of the story; the part where he had ordered Tyler to bite her. It wormed its way through her reminiscing.

_He doesn't do good things,_ her conscience reminded her. _He does not help. He does not grieve. And he does not love._

Her heart jumped, at the lie that she had tried to sell herself.

_He _loves_ you,_ a phantom-like voice echoed on the edge of her consciousness. _He told you, that he fell in love with you. And anyone capable of love, is capable of being saved. You know it's true. _

_You know it's true. _

_You know it's…_

The voice in her head subsided,

She drifted off to sleep.

**- TVD -**

Elijah settled into the hot bath, welcoming its steamy essence. Closing his eyes, he tried to cleanse the havoc of the past two days - particularly his argument with Rebekah. But his scolding of her had earned him valuable information. And although Caroline partially knew of his motives - he knew that she wouldn't say anything.

She'd been surprisingly calm, considering she'd been bitten.

The young vampire had seemed like she thought he hadn't seen it, but he had realised when they stood in the main foyer together, before he had dashed off to aid Elena and Stefan. Then Caroline's facade with the memory stick (the addition of her scarf) had confirmed it. Elijah surmised that Klaus would have left his phone somewhere or other - but in half an hour, he would be at their suite near the Atlanta International Airport; and there, a message could be put through.

Caroline didn't have to die. And certainly not for Rebekah's gain.

At that moment, right on cue - _she_ called.

He'd been expecting it.

He waited until the sixth trill of his phone sounded, before lifting it to his ear.

"Ouch," she uttered on the other end of the line, in her rich, seductive purr. "The sixth ring?"

"Dropped my phone in the bathtub and had to fish it out," he chuckled. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Right," she smirked. "Now, tell me what you got out of them."

**- TVD -**

Caroline gasped and sat up, hand flying to her neck. Her fingers slid against her clammy skin - beneath their tips, she felt a spongy, weeping wound. Beneath her, the white cover of her bed was stained with red. Her body felt as though it were on fire. The surface, however, was covered in a thin sheen of sweat - cold, and sticky. Stumbling to her feet, her hands reached out before her in the dark, and she sought out her chest of draws. Her fingers met the water bottle. Tearing off the day's bloodied clothes, her boots, and finally her bra, she splashed a handful of cool water against her chest, lifting the black towel, and dabbing it down. Biting her cheeks, she squirted some more into her wound. Her eyes were adjusting to the dark light - more slowly, than usual, given her condition. She studied the blood still over her body in the murky reflection of the mirror. Cleaning and wiping for another few minutes, she swallowed a mouthful of the water when she was done. Discarding the bottle and bloodied towel, she reached for the dresser again. Hands clasping onto the second draw down, she tugged and retrieved a thin, white cotton piece of clothing. She slid the summer chemise over her head, and sighed slightly the moment she did; the relief of the cool item of clothing was a momentary godsend. Walking to her windows, she opening them more than halfway, and stepped backwards as the chill of the winter air swept across her damp skin. Flipping back the duvet, and lying back down again, she stared at her white ceiling, and the despair ate at her.

Her fever was already raging. Her heart-rate quicker.

She was running out of time. It was happening more quickly, this time.

She was going to die.

Elijah's words echoed in her mind.

_'Don't hold your breath.'_

_He_ wouldn't come home.

Would he?

Her head turned very slowly, to where her mobile resided on her bedside table, a little green light glowing to let her know that its battery was full. Sitting up, she yanked it from the charger, and scrolled down her contacts list.

She held down her index finger over his name.

It started ringing.

Once. Twice.

Five. Ten.

"You've reached Klaus. If I'm not answering now, then I probably won't be for a while. Don't insistently call me if I don't pick up. It's extremely irritating. Leave a message after the tone and I'll get back to you as soon as I can - or someone else will for me."

_Beep._

Her lips tugged upwards slightly at his message-bank recording, in spite of herself.

Her smile fell; she had to hear his voice again. A yearning within called for it.

She ended the call, and dialled again.

Again, no answer, but it didn't matter. She almost went to hang up again, but when the tone came once more, so did her words.

Caroline bit her lip. "Klaus...it's Caroline. I know that you've probably thrown your phone into the trash, or…you're just not picking up because…I don't know why else." She laughed sadly, the tears beginning to well. "I know that I don't deserve to ask you for anything. But…" She trailed off, struggling to organise her thoughts. She decided to delay what she almost admitted aloud; what she was struggling to admit to herself. "I know that you said you had to stay away, or otherwise I wouldn't be safe. But it didn't…work. They came after me anyway. And they'll keep on coming." Her fingers dug into the palm that didn't hold the phone. She felt a dull sting, and blood pooled into her nails. "I know that you were about to give up all you wanted; your hunt for the cure. But…I mean, I was so stupid - saying that you wouldn't give up your army - and…I'm so _angry_ that you let me think that that was really what was going on. By going away…you were giving up your hunt for the cure, so I could be safe. But the cure _is _your army; it's the only way you can make more hybrids. I thought you were being selfish. And I'm so…so sorry." Tears slipped from her eyes. "And I know that half of this message would have cut out by know, because it's too long. And God...I know I sound crazy. I can't make sense of anything, because...I…" She lay down, and rolled onto her side. "I'm dying, Klaus. Tyler bit me." She began to cry. "If you don't come back now…I'm going to die." She pinched the bridge of her, thick tears choking her exhale. "God knows I'm probably saying this to a telephone smothered in trash, or your unattended voicemail that hasn't cut me off yet...or maybe I'm not even calling you at all and this is some weak, messed-up dream - I guess I'll never know." She blew out slowly through pursed lips, trying to settle herself. "Just please," she cried in a whisper. "Come home. There's no one else. I don't have anyone else."

She ended the call, and hugged the phone to her chest, as she fell back into her bed, exhausted tears shaking her weak body.

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_you know what i want ;) it makes me write faster, i pinky swear! - thanks for reading xxx_


	8. Delusion

_sorry guys - last 2 weeks have been absolutely heccas so things [namely, this UPDATE] did not happen as quickly as i had planned! i was absolutely wrapped with your feedback from last chapter! so glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much! xxx_

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**8. Delusion**

* * *

"_It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane." _

- Philip K. Dick

The wind from the balcony whipped his open white shirt back, exposing his bare chest - but Elijah did not feel it. There was something euphoric about never feeling cold. And he loved it, just as much as the heat. Two decades ago, he'd followed the snow-seasons across the world, doing nothing but skiing and snowboarding - just because he could. Ten years after, he'd spent a year in the Bahamas.

And now...?

He stared at the iPhone beneath his hands, pressing the centre button to bring up the clock. It was time. His fingers swept over the screen's keypad, and he lifted the dialling phone to his ear.

**- TVD -**

Miles away, two men stood on a balcony too - but their gaze lay upon the ecstatic lights of the airport in the near distance.

Klaus swallowed a mouthful of his scotch.

"We're fuelling up now, Sir," the pilot told him, reading the weather and humidity forecast off his iPad. "We're scheduled to leave in an hour and a half, given the conditions. Does that still suit?"

The hybrid sat down his glass. "It's fine."

His pilot nodded, and departed. "I'll see you down there in an hour," he called over his shoulder. He halted at the door. "Sir?"

Klaus didn't turn his head. "W_hat_?"

"There's a line being put through to you."

"Bring it here, could you mate?"

He heard the aviator grunt unfavourably, but in a moment, the cordless hotel phone had been handed over, and he left.

Klaus lifted it to his ear.

"Not even trying to be discrete," Elijah said, on the other end of the line. "Niklaus Mikaelson."

"I'm not running," Klaus defended. "I'm relocating; there's a difference."

"Are you?" Elijah folded his answer back on him. "Because I received a phone call from Nadia not twenty minutes after you left, asking me if it was all right to be opening up my house…?"

"Didn't think you'd mind," Klaus laughed - though it was without colour. "We've always referred to it as _'our'_ villa, have we not?"

"No, that was you; I just gave up arguing otherwise. I own it. I pay all the bills. Do you know how expensive a lifestyle is in the South of France nowadays?" Elijah shook his head. "But I suppose staying in one of your own houses wouldn't have been discrete enough, right? Not your Scottish castle, or your Beijing apartment, or your Australian lair on the beach - too predictable."

"Oh brother, don't _start_ to make a list. You'll make me sound like a spoilt brat."

"Which you are."

"I still have one dagger left," Klaus warned.

"Try me. We're miles apart."

"I could convince the jet to stop by Mystic Falls' sorry little excuse of an airport to pay you a visit, before flying over the Atlantic. After all, I do own it."

"The airport or the plane?"

"Oh please."

Elijah smirked at his brother's response, but then hesitated on the other end of the line.

Klaus frowned. "Elijah?"

His older brother let an unsteady sigh. "That's just the thing, Niklaus," he murmured remorsefully. "…You may just have to."

When Klaus went to breathe, it felt shallow, and constricted.

"Tell me."

**- . -**

When the valet entered the penthouse suite to take Klaus' cases and hour later, he arrived to find it empty, the door wide open, the glass coffee table shattered, and every suitcase gone.

**- TVD -**

"If you would only stay still, Sir -"

Klaus yanked his arm away, and his air-hostess stood back.

"I can do it myself," the hybrid snapped. "Hand me the tweezers, Annabel."

She did as she was told. "You know…it would much easier to find the smaller shards if you burned them out with vervain," the girl suggested, peering over his shoulder.

Her turned his eye on her very slowly. "I didn't ask for your help."

"Then why did you hire me?"

"So you could be a _hostess_. Not a doctor."

Annabel paused, studying his troubled face. "She'll be alright, Sir."

Klaus looked up very suddenly, his stare cold, hard. "…_Or_ a life coach either. There are forty-nine minutes left of this flight, and I would prefer to spend them_ alone_."

Reluctantly, the witch turned and disappeared through the little door that led to the aircraft's kitchenette.

Klaus' eyes focussed intently on his arm, and he pinched a slither of glass with his tool. Discarding it into the bloodied napkin, he went for another.

And his mind drifted back to their cause.

**- . -**

_"She tried calling you. I know she would have."_

_"What have you done to her?" Klaus yelled into the phone. _

_"Not me. You know I'd never hurt her, brother."_

_"Wh-"_

_"He bit her, Niklaus." Elijah interceded, letting out a very slow, lungful of air. "I was too late."_

_Within the space of a second, the call had ended. The hotel phone hurled from Klaus' hand, and met the concrete wall of the room with a splitting crack. _

_Gripping his head, Klaus paced. _

_He hadn't needed his brother to finish the sentence._

_Amidst his enraged pacing, Klaus' foot caught on the edge of the glass coffee table. _

_Gripping the piece of furniture with his hands until blood slipped through his fingers, he lifted it, and smashed it down. _

_Pain tore through his arms like a hundred needles, but he didn't feel it._

_Moving to the bedroom, Klaus took the phone off the hook, and dialled reception._

_"How may we be of service to you, Mr Mikaelson?" The receptionist inquired upon answering._

_"Put a message through to my pilot."_

_"What would you like it to be?"_

_Klaus stared out the window."The plane leaves in ten minutes."_

_**- TVD -**_

The last shard of glass landed on the soaked napkin.

Klaus leant back into his seat, and stared at what lay next to it. He took the phone in his hands.

_Just one more time, _he told himself.

He opened his message bank, and played it once more.

_"I know that you've probably thrown your phone into the trash, or…you're just not picking up because…I don't know why else."_ She laughed at herself, but it was pained.

It hurt him.

_"I know that I don't deserve to ask you for anything. I know that I pushed you away. But…"_ She went to say something, but didn't. Instead, it was: _"I know that you said you had to stay away, or otherwise I wouldn't be safe. But it didn't…work. They came after me anyway…-"_

He had played it over, and over; the cut-off of what he knew was a much longer message. Elbow on the side table, the end of the phone pressed to his furrowed forehead, Klaus swallowed a swelling thickness in his throat.

He knew what came after all that had been recorded - and he only hoped that he wasn't too late to make sure it didn't end that way.

**- TVD -**

_The air was cold. _

_It hit her bare legs and shoulders with an intense, chilling sensation. Caroline exhaled deeply, and jumped off the porch, setting down the sidewalk at a steady jog. Each step seemed to have more of a bounce than the last. With every springing step taken in her _Nike_ runners, she began to move more quickly. Soon, her speed was no longer human._

_Lost in the music that thundered in her ears, and the atmosphere around her that passed in a blur of green, white and the colour-wheel of gardens - she didn't see him. Thundering into the hybrid at a thousand miles an hour, she hurled backwards, his stone body forcing her down on the concrete._

_Dazed, Caroline looked up._

_"Tyler?" _

_He stared down at her coldly - no remorse for knocking her over, and nothing of seeming as though he'd offer a hand to pull her up._

_"What are you doing?" She tried to stand, but his leg struck out and forced her back down. "What is going _on_?"_

_"She told you to leave."_

_Caroline shook her head. "What do you mean?"_

_His eyes shone a luminous gold. _

_Caroline's hand went to her neck, and when she drew her fingers back before her eyes, they were covered in blood. _

_"You bit me," she whispered, recalling._

_Suddenly, they weren't in the middle of the street anymore._

_They were at the church ruins; the old graveyard._

_And she was on the ground again, the pine needles penetrating her bare skin._

_"This is a dream," she whispered aloud, looking about herself. The throb of her bite was so real though - it's pain, so excruciating...she couldn't be sure.  
_

_"Is it?" Tyler's eyes narrowed. "Dreaming is your subconscious, right? But what if someone was in your head? _Playing_ with it? This could be real, for all you know Caroline."_

_Caroline's heart thundered in her chest. "What do you want from me?"_

_"We're going to play a little game," he told her, bringing out a pipe. "It's called; you screwed me over-"_

_"_I_ screwed you, over?" Caroline cut him off, visibly boiling with anger. "You cheated on me, you asshole, with the damn were-slut. Don't _even_ get me started."_

_Tyler rolled his eyes. "And you never cheated on me? We're both as bad as each other - in fact, you're worse. Because you're still keeping it from me-"_

_"I never _touched_ Klaus." She stood. "You're wasting your time."_

_"You don't get to dictate this."_

_Caroline took a deep breath. "What do you _want_, then?" She demanded through her teeth. "Let's be serious. You _know_ that I would've never betrayed you."_

_"Bullshit. Don't you won't to die honestly?"_

_Caroline felt her pulse rise fearfully."Tyler. Seriously."_

_"Tell me where Klaus is hiding his sword, Caroline. I know that you know. So tell." _

_Caroline comprehended. He wanted the cure - he thought that she knew where Klaus was keeping his sword. But she honestly had no idea. How was she going to make him believe that?_

_Tyler stuck something in the little straw-like pipe, aimed it at her, and blew. _

_Caroline screamed, and pulled the toothpick from her forehead._

_"Picked this up from Jules' pack. Clever little trick."_

_Caroline gripped her head. "What's _wrong_ with you Tyler - this isn't _you_!"_

_Tyler's black eyes were just.._.mean_. Caroline couldn't think of any other way to describe it. "Shouldn't have let me down, Care," he answered darkly. "I needed you on my side."_

_"Come now," an annoyingly familiar voice interrupted. "Get on with the interrogation precious." Rebekah leant over Tyler's shoulder. "One's already down." She glanced behind her. "When you're done with her, you're free to leave."_

_Tyler nodded._

_Caroline's eyes followed Rebekah's trail._

_Elena lay on her back, very still._

_A wooden stake protruded from her chest._

_"No!" Caroline screamed, going to move towards her. "What have you done? Tyler what have you done-?"_

_"Get down," Rebekah snapped, pushing her back. Her pupils dilated as she compelled her, "Stay there. Don't move unless Tyler tells you so."_

_"Why?" Caroline cried. "You said two days grace. It's only been a couple of hours!"_

_"It's morning, sweetness," Rebekah said lightly, with a lilt. "Sunday morning. I told you to leave on Thursday night. How many days has it been, now?"_

_"Three," Caroline muttered._

_"I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that-"_

_"Three!" She repeated in a yell. Caroline couldn't breathe. Her head tipped towards her knees, and she hugged it tightly. _

_The sound of children crying made her lift her gaze._

_She was sitting on the pavement once more - though this time in front of her own home. It was nighttime. Yellow light glowed through the windows of her house._

_Standing, she stumbled towards her house, and yanked the door open._

_In the hallway, the two Geoffrey children stood in their pyjamas sobbing - the five year-old clutched a blanket to her plump lips, and her brother, two years older, shielded her._

_"Charlotte!" Caroline cried, running towards them. "James!" She fell to her knees before them. "What happened?" She put her hand on the side of Charlotte's face. "Sweetie what happened?" _

_The little girl stepped forward and fell into her chest, wailing hysterically. Embracing her, Caroline looked to James. "What happened?" _

_His red-rimmed, spilling eyes were wide with fear They flickered to her wounded neck, but it did not occupy him for long. Something else had terrified him so much, and animalistic bite - which normally would have frightened a child - had no effect over them. _

_She could tell that there were no words to describe what he'd seen. She felt sick to the core of her being. "Shh, it's okay," she soothed Charlotte, rubbing her tiny frame. "You stay here with your brother, okay? I'll be back a minnie. Stay together."_

_Leaving them, she walked warily through her house, and halted when she stepped into her mother's room. She fell back against the door and stifled scream. _

_Blood coated the walls. _

_In the middle of the bed, Liz and Tom embraced each other, in their bloody grave._

_"No." Caroline shook her head in denial, tears slipping down her cheeks. "No. No. Mom!" She ran forward and jumped onto the bed, shaking her mother's lifeless, bloody body. "Mom, no. Don't leave me too," she croaked, her sobs cutting her voice. "Don't leave me too, Mom! I haven't got anybody else." She gripped her arms tightly. "Don't you leave those _kids_," she growled through clenched teeth. "You're going to be fine. You're going to be okay." Her head bent down, and her lips touched her mother's crimson forehead._

_Strong arms gripped her waist, and pulled her back from the bed._

_"No! Stop! St-"_

_"Caroline," _he_ murmured, voice heavy with remorse for her obvious pain. "Love, it's all right."_

_And then, she was floating - wavering, weightless..._

_"It's not real," he whispered._

_Her head felt heavy, but lighter. She continued to float upwards. When suddenly..._

Her nightmare disappeared.

_Has it?_ She panicked, the burning venom in her veins clouding all rational thought. Was it actually over...or was she only entering a dream now? Tyler had been talking about playing with her subconscious, after all...

"Caroline," _he_ repeated in the same tone. "Love, it's all right. It's not real."

_What wasn't real?_

Something warm, and wet pressed against her lips. It oozed through her teeth.

Her teeth sank into his arm.

"It's okay. You're okay," Klaus whispered lowly, tenderly.

His fingers began to caress her head, as they stroked back strands of hair.

For a moment, she fed from his arm, the gentle snuffling of air through her nose, blowing softly on his skin, kissing it like a light breeze.

But gradually some form of awareness grabbed hold of her consciousness; her breathing became a wheezing, sobbing intake and outtake of air, and her body trembled. She pulled away, her canines retracting. _You're hallucinating,_ she internally dismayed. _You have to be. He's gone. He went away, and said he wasn't coming back. You were munching on a pillow, not his arm._

Children's tears and sobs swam around in her head. She could still _smell_ the blood of her mother and Tom - it clung in her nose.

He went to pull her in, but she jumped out of bed, and backed up to the end of it.

"No," she began to sob, shaking hands raising to cover eyes, but not quite making it - pausing at her lips, and stifling her mouth instead. "No, _no_," she cried repeatedly.

He reached towards her. "Caroline?" His voice - though pained by her obvious distress, was soothing.

But it didn't work.

"_God_," she cried, chest heaving. She gripped her head. "God. Please."

"Caroline, you're just confused. It's okay."

"No, stop it!" She yelled. "Stop messing with me, it's already hard enough." She hit her head roughly. "Wake up!" She looked up at him angrily. "Go away!"

He took a step back, eyes wide with concern.

"I'm hallucinating," she panted. "You're not here…you're not. You _left_. That means Mom…that means that Mom's-"

Klaus knew that it was the dying venom fuelling her confusion. She was half-way between her hallucinations - _a poisoned mind_ - and reality. He just had to be patient, and soothe her the best he could. "I came back, love."

"This isn't real." She shook her head continuously.

"Caroline, what do you mean?" Klaus gripped her arms to steady her, and stared into her eyes.

Her knees buckled, and she collapsed on the floor, air rasping through her lungs, as she her wide, wet eyes stared at the ground. "I don't know what's _real_. I don't if _you_ are, or if…my mom's dead and I can..._hear_ them crying. I just want it to _stop_." Her fingers clawed her hair.

He knelt beside her in a swift moment. "Who's crying, love?"

"The children; Charlotte and James." She paused. "You're a projection of my subconscious…you should be able to hear them. Can't you hear them too-?"

Klaus had no idea of whom she was referring to. "There's no one crying, love. The voices and death; it's not real. You were dreaming. They were just hallucinations from the venom." He stroked back her mattered, blood-stained locks. "I'm real. I'm _here_," he murmured huskily, his words settling her panicky pulse the slightest.

"But _they_ promised they'd hurt her," Caroline looked to her door. "You can't smell the blood?"

"The blood is your own - it's on your clothes, on the floor, over there." He motioned behind them, to a pile of bloodied laundry. He took her face in his hands. "Trust me." One hand pushed back a thick lock of hair from her face. With his other, he traced the line of her cheekbone with the back of his fingers.

She frowned softly, eyes clouding.

"It's okay," he whispered, massaging her head with his hand. "You're okay." His blue eyes implored her.

She stared right back into them. "I'm okay," she finally whispered, exhaling deeply, and then inhaling very quickly. Her panicking, thundering heart slowed, and she subconsciously leant into him with an exhausted sigh. Her forehead fell against his. "God, I'm sorry," she sniffed.

She could feel the soft waver of his breath against her face, and then the smooth, powder-soft sensation of his lips, as they - not _pressed_, but literally bumped against hers.

"It's okay," he barely whispered, his lips brushing hers as he spoke.

He was _there_.

She _wanted_ to kiss him.

But she was covered in blood - both dry, and sticky. She was clammy, feverish and had just gone utterly crazy in front of him. If it was going to happen, it wasn't going to be like that. It wasn't right. It didn't feel right.

Not yet, anyway.

_It won't happen,_ her rational side fought. _No way. Two seconds ago you couldn't even draw the line between reality and a dream. How could you possibly discern what you want, moments after near-death? _Klaus had some explaining to do, before anything like that would be remotely considered. She had to be sure that she was going to come first. She'd already made that mistake once before, and it wasn't going to happen again.

She stood up - but Klaus' expression almost told that he had expected as much. He stood also.

_Maybe that's it,_ she thought. _Maybe being closer to death is what has made you…_

She shook her head roughly, backed away from him, making a barrier between them with her arms. "You weren't _here _when they...you weren't…." Shaking her head again, she bit her lip.

"I came back." His voice was soft and tender - within it, was a promise that she wasn't sure she should trust.

"You just _left_," she cried, with a different kind of adamant passion - a contrast to her tears of horror and despair, they were now of anger. "You know, we're all screwed without you. As much as we hate you…as much as I-"

"As much as you, '_what'_?" His eyes glistened - with _something_, but Caroline couldn't put her finger what exactly _it_ was.

She dismissed his question. "Why did you have to leave? I mean, do you expect me to believe that you'd drop everything and leave for the sake one person. Or was it for your army?" Caroline put her hands on her hips; though they ached, and she felt weak all over, an indescribable passion within drove her. She liked arguing with him - not because she hated him (which, deep down she knew she didn't); there was something _about_ it. Something she hadn't experienced with even Tyler. She liked the way it made her feel; powerful and passionate all at once.

"Should that even be a question?" Klaus answered heatedly. "You know that by leaving I was giving up everything. I was giving up _everything_, for_ you_!"

"But not your _army_! That meant that _I_ was never going to be _enough_ anyway." Her hands dropped by her sides, and her eyes narrowed. "To think that I would have…_forgiven_ you, for _everything else_ you've done, only to turn around and discover that you won't even compromise-"

"Without the cure, I have no army! For a thousand years, I have wanted this. _More_ than ten, human lifetimes. Ten _centuries_, and I came across no person that made me want to give it up, until I found _you_!" Klaus fired, cutting her off, but he then took a moment before continuing evenly with, "But you already knew that, didn't you? You knew the sacrifice I was making, and yet you still contradict it."

But Caroline was still. "You actually got my message," she choked.

Klaus' thrashing heart slowed; there was something in that message, that she seemed almost afraid of him knowing. That much, he was certain. Which is why he deliberated before replying choicely, "Yes." It left it open ended - perhaps, subsequently, she would reveal its content.

"How much of it?" Caroline barely breathed.

"Enough."

Caroline put a hand to her forehead.

"I risked everything - ironically, _your life_, when I was actually coming back to save it." Klaus watched as the unintentional bitterness in his tone evoked an angry passion once more in the younger blonde vampire.

"None of this would have happened if you had just stayed in the first place!" Caroline yelled.

Anger brought Klaus forward a step. "You were _more_ than happy to see me go - why suddenly act as if you care?" He surmised apathetically. "With me gone, it gave all the more of an opportunity to mend bridges with Tyler if I wasn't in the picture complicating everything for you."

"Don't flatter yourself into believing that you're the reason he and I broke up."

"No, you're right; you and Tyler both had your own issues and complications without me - any fool could have seen that."

Caroline was visibly pained by the obvious truth.

And even though Klaus hated hurting her, he knew that he need to continue to make his point. She had to hear it. "Tell me," he went on. "Did you realise this before or after you discovered it was he that had the strongest intent on killing you tonight? That it was your beloved Tyler Lockwood who _bit _you - who got inside your head, and gave you those nightmares tonight? Who confused your perception of fiction, and reality?"

Caroline's eyes welled. "Why are you doing this?"

Klaus covered his mouth and chin between his hand, and pulled it down - a mannerism Caroline had noticed he only did when he was genuinely vexed.

"So you know that _I'm_ not the _'bad guy'_ - he is," the Original defended. "So you have no reason to blame me, so that you know that _I _didn't do _this_" - he pointed to her healing wound - "to you-"

"I _know _you didn't," Caroline interrupted - although it almost sounded as if she were admitting it to herself. "Klaus…I know."

"Then why do I still feel like you're blaming me?"

"Because I didn't _want_ you to leave in the first place!" Her eyes were so full of sincerity, that he just_ believed _her.

All anger evaporated from his face. It melted away into an unfathomable mix of disbelief and defeat.

It pulled tightly on Caroline's heartstring. Unable to continue staring into his eyes, they dropped. She began to scratch at the remnants of dry blood on her hands.

There was a long silence.

"All right," he finally whispered.

Her brows furrowed, and her lips pressed together in a tight line. "_All_ _right_?" She blurted.

He sighed, nodding. "Yes."

Caroline's jaw hung, trying to comprehend what was supposedly some form of submission; an emotional defeat. Feeling the decline of ardor from their argument, she felt her body sway on her feet. If only…

But he had seemingly read her thoughts.

"You should take a shower," Klaus suggested quietly, eyes scanning her bloodied person. He inevitably also acknowledged her fit figure beneath the thin layer of cotton she wore.

"I can't," she replied tiredly.

He furrowed a brow. "Why not, love?" His eyes rested briefly on the rise and fall of her chest, but flickered quickly to her eyes.

She'd seen it though, and covered her torso self-consciously, folding her arms. "There's vervain in the town's water supply."

A long moment passed, before Klaus offered, "Then come back to my house and shower. Get some rest. Elijah and I will keep an eye out for you."

Caroline watched him warily, her normally conservative self flashing through her careful eyes.

"We run on three large rain-water tanks. We have five bathrooms; you can use any one of them." When her worried eyes darted to the side, he placed a hand on her arm. "Stay the night - you'll be safe. I can be at the opposite end of the house, if it makes you feel better." _Or the opposite end of the world, _he thought sadly, unbeknownst to her.

Caroline was very hesitant, before she replied reluctantly with, "Let me get my things."

* * *

_whew. tidlewave of emotions in that chapter. what do you think? wasn't absolutely okay with this one [found it tricky to write] but i love it when these two argue [so much PASSION] ;)  
_

_...she's at his house next chapter... o.O_


	9. Conscience

you know i love you guys to pieces when i write and edit this quick ;) enjoy and please R&R xx

_DISCLAIMER: You know I don't own TVD [unfortunately] but, because I do refer to it in this chapter, neither do I own Jane Eyre! Wasn't around 150+ years ago to write it, so...the use of it here is for literary purposes only! :)_

* * *

**9. Conscience**

* * *

_"If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends."_

- Charlotte Brontë, _Jane Eyre_

"Let me take that," Klaus offered, reaching for her bag.

Caroline clutched her _Abercrombie_ duffel to her side. "No…it's okay. I got it."

He opened the passenger door for her. She stepped up into the SUV, and slid into the leather seat. He got in the driver side.

It was the first time she'd ever been in a car with him. Alone. She shivered.

"Are you cold?" His tone held a little surprise - for vampires obviously did not get cold. But under an hour ago, she had been dying…

"A little," she responded, biting her inner lip.

He turned the key, and the vehicle revved to life. Turning the heating dial, Klaus then put his foot down on the accelerator, and they were off.

Caroline's arms tightened around the navy bag on her lap, her eyes strained ahead. For a couple of minutes, they sat in silence, staring at nothing but the road in front of them.

And then she permitted her gaze to travel.

Her eyes began their trail at his hands, whose wrists poked out from the black sleeves of his short cotton trench coat. She noticed the way his fingers wrapped around the black wheel in a soft grip; despite all that had happened, he was relaxed. She looked up his strong upper arms, and swallowed when her eyes halted on his neck. Following its strong lines, her eyes rested on his jaw.

They came to an intersection in the road.

Caroline quickly diverted her eyes to the windshield. Though there were no cars - given that the illuminative clock on the dashboard read that it was half-past two in the morning - Klaus still slowed, before continuing through the green traffic lights. She briefly wondered whether he did so out of habit, or because of the passenger he carried. They eventually turned onto a gravel road, which Caroline knew led to the Mikaelson's mansion driveway. _He is a very good driver, though,_ she observed; he was _patient _- which amused her to no end. He did not brake and lurch in a mad rush as Tyler did.

She let out a slow exhale, and blocked the past twenty-four hours, where he was included.

Klaus did not miss a thing. "Are you alright, love?" His eyes flickered from the road to her person. He'd felt _her _eyes on him the entire time, but until that moment, hadn't wanted to disturb them.

"You're so relaxed," she countered, covering for herself. "I just don't get it."

His eyebrows rose slightly - curiously. "How someone as terrible and disruptive as me could be settled?"

Caroline pursed her lips. "No," she whispered.

_Yes,_ the both thought instantaneously.

Klaus slowed.

Caroline peered out into the dark, but when the car turned, the headlights lit the front gate. Across each side of the sandstone walls of the gate, read a word each. In silver letters, it spelled a name.

_Whittington Estate. _

"When did you get that done?" Caroline wondered aloud. She could have sworn that hadn't been there upon her last visit - regardless whether she had sped down the driveway, and to his doorstep without much care for smaller details when she did.

Klaus shrugged. "Two days ago, I think? Elijah oversaw it." He looked to her.

Her face was pressed to the glass, however, as she took in all that had changed, where she had not last time.

A smile crept across his face at her obvious intrigue towards his property.

"Where did you manage to factor in home developments around your full schedule of evil?" She quipped in mutter, staring down the driveway.

"I wasn't doing it on my own up until a couple of days ago," Klaus mused. "I had twelve others landscaping, and helping me get things in order."

Caroline understood full-well his intentional reference. "I suppose they weren't _helping _you, they were doing it _for _you; _like_ you would get your hands dirty."

Klaus' jaw tensed, but he was used to her strikes of insensitivity. Instead of reacting, he sighed it off. "I love being outside. I don't mind the work, occasionally. It keeps me grounded."

Caroline snuck a curious glance at him, but he instead focussed on the driveway before them. Taking a small side road away from the front entrance of the house, Klaus pressed a button somewhere beneath the steering wheel, and brought the car to neutral before a great garage. It's door lifted, and a light within switched on. Entering it at a crawl, he cut off the engine, and pulled out his keys. He was out of the car in a moment, and at her door the next, holding it open. Caroline slipped out, and stared down the building fit for four cars, and more. Three currently occupied it. At the very end, was a black Mercedes Benz, which Caroline presumed belonged to Elijah. The car between, however, was something else all together.

Caroline gaped. "Couldn't have picked me up in a Mercedes AMG, could you?" She breathed.

He chuckled, eyes on the sleek, silver vehicle. "Needs a service. And it isn't exactly discrete, is it?"

Caroline barely shook her head. "You don't say," she responded in the same tone.

Klaus locked his car, and motioned towards outside. "Come on."

They entered the house through its front entrance, as Klaus surmised Elijah would have kept the back doors locked. Caroline inwardly assumed it was also because Klaus wanted to impress. This was somewhat confirmed when they stood in the foyer, and he smiled in a breath, telling her to wait while he went ahead and made some quick preparations. Despite herself, she smiled.

Caroline sat down her bag, and wrapped her arms around her torso, taking slow steps about the entry hall. Small artworks and green plants dotted the spacious area. The black grand piano had its place in the centre of the room. Weaving through the columns, she looked up to the staircases, and her gaze was directed to hallways and doors. Moving towards the centred piano, she carefully lifted its lid, and her fingers danced across the notes of the highest octave. As a child, she had learned enough piano to play chord progressions, or simple tunes - but the last time she had done anything remotely musical, had been her serenade in The Grill to Matt the year before. Her thumb, middle and pinky finger stretched out across a triad. She pressed down, and closed her eyes at the harmony of the Major chord.

"Do you play?"

Caroline's eyelids shot open, her head turned towards the sound of his voice. "Only a little. You?"

Klaus stood in the shadow of a hallway beneath the staircases, to the right in front of the piano. He smiled at her question, and his eyes darted to the ground, then back to hers.

It gave his answer.

_Of course._

He motioned behind him. "Come."

She closed the lid, and followed him through the door, and down the hall.

**- TVD -**

Immediately, Caroline discerned it as French. From the soft, off-white panelling, to the pale-wood queen bed, its ornate side tables, and the small armchairs positioned beneath the tall French windows - the white, light blue and soft green classically themed room was such a contrast to the rest of the mansion. At least, that of it that Caroline had seen.

She sighed in awe at the tastefulness and design of the bedroom - which joined to an en suite. Her eyes strained to the slightly ajar door, trying to see what lay within.

"Do you like it?" She heard Klaus whisper from somewhere behind her.

"It's a beautiful room," Caroline responded quietly, turning slowly on her foot. "Th-thank you." Her eyes flickered to his, but then fell.

"For what?" He pressed.

She blushed.

Klaus' heart jumped; it was the prettiest, most becoming shade on her.

"Letting me shower...stay," she elaborated, sheepish. "It's very kind of you."

_Why do you have to be so civil about it?_ The hybrid willed internally. "For the service of any friend who needed it," he heard himself answer aloud. Moving towards the bathroom to make sure everything was in order for his guest, he found himself halting in front of her instead.

Caroline's frame jerked once in laughter. "We're friends, now? When did that happen?"

"When I saved your life," he teased, although his eyes were ernest; smouldering. "Brought you back from the brink of death." He cocked his head to the side. "Do I not deserve your friendship?" He leant in, slightly.

She sensed something else in his blue iris' too - not only vulnerability, but a question. Unconsciously, Caroline's body wavered towards his - gravitated, without control.

"In sight of all the horrible things that you've done," she barely managed, her words slipping out in a broken murmur.

The electric blue irises darkened, depressed. "Yes."

She closed her eyes, forcing herself from his spell. When she opened them again, they were not cold, as she had intended them to be; she wanted to have the upper hand, but found herself trifling instead. "Did you honestly think that your charm and a few acts of decency on my behalf would dismiss _all_ that?" Caroline's head titled to the side slightly, and her vocal was tone light when she continued with, "Enough that I would consider friendship as a card on the table?"

He surprised her, by placing a hand on her hip. His fingers curled, tugging on the elastic material of her shirt. He smiled when he felt her tense, and heard her breath hitch in her throat. "Inevitably," he murmured huskily, inches from her face. He was resolved: he would fight fire with fire, if that's what he had to do.

"K_laus_," Caroline mumbled in a sort of warning, heart in her throat, eyes wide with fear for the uncertain.

He pulled away, and turned towards the door. "You'll find everything you need in that bathroom. Should you need anything else…I'm sure someone will be happy to accommodate."

Caroline scoffed, but it was weak; she was still short of breath.

He closed the door.

The blonde vampire's hand went to her abdomen. _What just happened?_ She demanded inwardly, pointing a long finger at her conscience. _You just…what did he _do_ to you?_

Rolling her shoulders, and shaking her head, she moved towards the bathroom. As she had expected, it was as beautiful as the bedroom - although slightly more modernised in terms of the flooring, basin, lavatory and shower. At the far end of the room, however, was a square French window - against it, a white porcelain Clawfoot bath; which not only blended with the theme of the bathroom, but at the same time stood out, given its ornamental presence. Its deep slope made Caroline, for the first time since childhood, become erratically excited about having a bath.

After all, the water was vervain free.

Pulling the draws beneath the basin open, she discovered bars of soap, washcloths, a package of unused razors, bath crystals, matches (for the few candles, she presumed) new toothbrushes, toothpaste…

Deciding against using the bath first, given that she would only bloody the water in moments - she thought to shower first for a couple of minutes, while letting the bath fill at a trickle, and then transferring to it, where she could relax. Laying down a white mat each before the shower, and bath, Caroline took the cylinder of crystals, and, running the bath water through her fingers until it was warm, stuck the plug in and emptied some of the vanilla scented rocks into the bottom of the tub. Turning it on low pressure, she moved to the shower and let it run.

Shrugging off her jacket, she winced when the taut muscles between her shoulders throbbed. The weakness that came with a werewolf bite was the only time she felt remotely, physically human; where her pain and discomfort last longer than a few seconds [with the exception of vervain].

Removing the rest of her clothing, she stepped beneath the steamy spray, and could not conceal a moan when it pelted against her grimy skin. There was shampoo and conditioner in the shower - a godsend. She lathered the products through her blonde tresses, and massaged it through until her hair squeaked through her fingers upon rinsing. Rubbing the bar of soap over her body shortly, she then cut the water, and passed over the mats, before lowering down into the deep, hot bath. Settling into its groove, she closed her eyes. Deciding against recapping the horrors of the evening, she dissected whatever positives she could.

But all that was positive about the evening…was _him_. And fought as she may have, on any other day with her full strength…she could not avert the fact. She let herself go.

_He came back for you. He saved your life. He could have stayed away. As he said…he left to save you, when, ironically, he had to return to save you. Either way, I'm bloody sure he was looking out for you. God, you even _sound_ like him. 'Bloody' - too British, Care._

_This whole situation is back to front,_ she thought angrily, palms gliding back and fourth across the water._ And you can't even keep hold of your values anymore…_

The devil and angel of her conscience had returned.

_Yes you have. You're not a bad person for wanting to find the good in him._

Although this time…it felt like balanced argument, despite the conflict of opinions.

_Why is it more balanced this time?_ Caroline reached for another bar of soap on a little rack by the bath, and wetted it, before running it over her legs.

_Is it because you're falling for him?_ The devil cheeked.

The angel coughed. _No, you're just seeing the better parts, as opposed to the worse,_ it contradicted.

_Aren't those two things one and the same? Seeing a person's goodness, wanting to believe that they're good…doesn't that all sublimate into a growing attraction? _The devil seemed confident.

_I mean, what changed?_ She wondered, really turning the question on herself. _Was it your near death experience…or just an epiphany on its own?_

The angel had a sure answer: _No, not an epiphany - otherwise you would have a resolution. Which you don't, _it pointed out._ So I rest my case. You're just being a nice person._

The devil laughed. _If you didn't have a shroud of doubt in that statement, somewhere within yourself, then I wouldn't be here._

Her heart jumped nervously, and the soap slipped from her hands.

"Oh shit," she muttered aloud.

- TVD -

From his place in his bed, Klaus stared at the fire - watched the incandescent black coals simmer, radiating a red warmth, and an orange glow about the room. The showered, clean skin of his naked body absorbed the heat, drying under the lick of the flames, filling his whole frame with warmth. He reached for his glass of wine, and swallowed another mouthful, eyes focussing on the words printed across the aged page.

_"I knew," he continued, "you would do me good in some way, at some time: I saw it in your eyes when I first beheld you; their expression and smile did not strike delight to my inmost heart so for nothing." _

Klaus closed his eyes, fingers tracing shapeless patterns across the leather covering of the first edition copy. It was true, that he had read the novel numerous times, since its release in 1847, but until very recently, he hadn't touched it in about forty years.

Until Caroline.

There was something about _Jane Eyre_ that reminded him of her, something about the words of secrets, strength and the perseverance of love, that struck a chord within him.

_She is downstairs_, his mind chanted, causing his eyes to lift from the page and stare into space. _You are seconds away from being with her. One flight of stairs. One hallway. _

He took one hand off the novel.

_But you won't do it._

His fingers encircled the red wine once more, and he emptied the last of the glass into his mouth, swishing it about with his tongue, savouring the flavour. Just as he put back the empty goblet, there was pounding on the door beneath him - in the main foyer. Klaus closed his book carefully, and set it down on the bedside table. Jumping off his bed, he heard slippers slapping against the stone stairway.

Elijah.

Klaus sauntered to his wardrobe, and opened one of its many draws. Taking out a pair of city-stripe pyjama pants and tugging them on, he heard raised voices. Truthfully - only one was raised, the other, relaxed. Frowning, Klaus opened his door, and exited the small hallway between it, his library, and his art studio. He came to the top of the banister.

"Brother?"

Elijah looked up tiredly.

Klaus felt a stab of guilt and irritation when he recognised their intruder; it was his pilot causing the chaos.

**- TVD -**

Moments…minutes, or hours later the water was no longer hot. Lukewarm - and the tips of her fingers and toes had wrinkled from prolonged soaking. Lifting herself out of the deep tub, and pulling the plug, Caroline reached for a towel. Wrapping it about herself, she entered the bedroom once more.

But her bag was no where in sight.

_It's still in the foyer_, she realised, stomach dropping.

She considered her choices.

She didn't _have_ any alternative choices.

Tightly wrapping her towel, ensuring it wouldn't fall, Caroline stood at the door, and took a deep breath. Fingers clasping the handle, she turned it ever so carefully; to wake Klaus or Elijah, and face them in a towel would be…mortifying and uncomforable. Slipping out into the hall, ice gripped her heart when heard a commotion. Amongst her bathing, and then freaking out, she hadn't heard them. Or perhaps they had only just started. Regardless, there were people arguing in the main foyer, from what Caroline could discern. She stepped forward further, battling whether to turn and flee back towards her room, or sate her curiosity by listening in. Despite the situation, and towel, she decided that she could wait them out; she wanted to listen. Ensuring that she was out of view, Caroline hid in the shadow of the ajar door before the opening to the hallway.

"You were just going to keep us waiting, all night. You told me to keep the plane running!" An unfamiliar man yelled.

"Please keep you voice down, we have a guest."

_Elijah._

"Brother, let me settle this - go back to bed," came the voice she was most impatient to hear.

Klaus.

Caroline's pulse raced, and she closed her eyes. _Settle it soon, and get out of there. I need that bag._

"Goodnight, Niklaus," Elijah reluctantly replied. "Always a pleasure, Marco."

_Marco._ Caroline frowned in question, and clutched the towel above her breasts more tightly.

Neither of the other two said a word, until a bedroom door closed upstairs.

The other man - Marco - lowered his voice greatly, when he hissed the next few words. "You were supposed to heal the girl, and leave her right away. You told me half an hour, tops."

"I changed my mind." Klaus' voice held a sort of…_protectiveness. _For _her._

Caroline felt new reverence for his character.

Marco scoffed. "Annabel's waiting for you. She's had no sleep either."

_Annabel? _Caroline put together two and two. Stung, as quickly as her warm feelings of regard for him had come, they disappeared. _He's not even worth being jealous over. You have no right, and you should have expected as much._

Her ears pricked however, when she heard Klaus moving - bare feet on the stone - and then opening something that had a lid. A chest perhaps? It shut, and his footsteps sounded again. "There's a couple of hundred in there. Put yourselves up in a room for the night."

"What's left of it, you mean," Marco huffed. "Annabel won't be happy."

"Then let her be so."

Again, footsteps. The front door opened, and slammed shut.

Caroline peeked through the crevice of the hinges.

Klaus stood alone, in nothing but dark pyjama pants. His chest was bare.

A hummingbird battered the walls of her ribcage, in place of the muscle that usually resided there.

She wanted to feel ashamed with herself, but she couldn't bring herself to chiding. _He's good looking you stupid girl, _her little devil chuckled. _Why feel guilty? _

_Why now, of all times? _She thought exasperatedly, shaking with silent laughter at her own insanity. Her nails clawed her palms. _Why can't you just be normal?_

_You are. Look at him._

_Ain't no body got time for that! _The angle was back with a vengeance. _Turn around. Go back to your room; wouldn't be the first person to sleep stark._

_Perfect, _the devil purred. _And when he brings you breakfast in bed the next morning-_

"I know you're there, love," his smooth voice called out, exposing her.

She almost went into cardiac arrest. Steadying herself, she crept to the door, and stuck her head out.

"I won't bite," he promised, offering the best kind of smile; full of flirt, and dimples.

Caroline bit her lip, and inhaled deeply. Ruefully, she stepped out in her towel, burning with embarrassment. "I…I wasn't eavesdropping. Not intentionally - I mean, that wasn't why I was there…" she trailed off with a nervous laugh, and then fell silent entirely when she looked at his face.

His pleasant surprise was unmistakable, and plainly obvious. His eyes flickered from head to toe of her gorgeous figure.

If it were possible, Caroline flushed an even deeper scarlet, and her eyes dropped. "I left my bag," she explained quickly. She looked to the other staircase, on the opposite side of the grand piano.

"Oh," he exhaled. "Right."

They both walked towards it at the same moment, but he reached it first. He held it out to her, eyes looking down into hers with a glisten of humour - undoubtedly, the situation amused him. One hand grasping her towel as a safeguard, she reached out and clutched the bag with the other, only to find that when she went to take it from him…he held on.

"Klaus," she admonished him, tugging on it. "Seriously?"

"I trust everything was in order in the bathroom?" He inquired, gaze burning.

Bewildered by his question, her fingers tightened on the canvas, and she could only nod.

Smiling, with a glint of cheek, Klaus then pursed his lips, and released his hold on the bag. "Sleep well, then love," he whispered.

Grimacing with embarrassment, Caroline nodded once more, turned, and briskly exited.

Klaus stood watching her line of departure, until he heard her door close. Smirking, he flicked off the lights, and moved upstairs, deciding that he would have to pay Marco and Annabel much more than four-hundred dollars, for their accommodation was to be extended. He wasn't ready to leave yet - not by himself, no; that would not do.

The next time he boarded that plane, he would not be alone.

And this time, he was fairly sure he could manage to convince Caroline just that.

* * *

**they do make me write faster, you know...:) **

**i'll update as soon as i can xx**


	10. Exist

_Word of warning: this chapter is a bit different, in terms of me really exploring their characters more deeply. All stress aside, I wanted to see how they reacted in a **different** kind of situation(s) as you will see. A little self-conscious about this upload [regardless, I loved writing it], but let me know what you think! xx_

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**10. Exist**

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_"Forever is composed of nows."  
_- Emily Dickinson

Caroline didn't know how long light had filtered through the tall French window, fanning across her face in a dull shadow; nor did she know how long it took her to become aware of it. The pale winter sun offered no discomforting heat - instead, it was subtle, _cold_. Keeping her eyes closed another few moments, she stretched out in the bed, and nestled her head more deeply into the pillow, inhaling.

It didn't smell like_ her_. Its scent was a clean, soft cotton and lavender.

Her eyes shot open, taking in the blues, greens and whites of the room in shock. For a very long moment, she couldn't comprehend where she was. To her left, through the large window, she spied greenery and deciduous trees, bare in the cool season weather. The windows themselves, where murky with cloud.

Rubbing her face with a hand, she reached out to the bedside table, searching for a glass of water - out of habit. Instead, her fingers found a small remote, with two buttons. One, she could see, controlled the lighting for the room. The second, however, she wasn't sure.

So, naturally, curiously, Caroline pressed it.

Sitting in silence for a few moments, there was rustling down the hall, before a knock sounded on her door.

Caroline's eyes swept left, right and centre before she replied warily, "Yes?"

It was a blonde woman, who wore black stockings, a short skirt and a long-sleeved gold silk blouse. To top it off she wore pumps - also black. She was pretty…but it was a 'tacky' pretty - not genuine beauty.

"Thank goodness you're awake - we were going to bring it down in ten minutes anyway, but considering you're up, and you buzzed the intercom…"

Caroline started as it all came back to her, and she comprehended. The night before - the bite, _his _return…her showering at his place because at her own she could not. Of course, it should have made sense; the tasteful room, French windows…maids. Not to mention, her dreams had been full of him - although that something that she would never, _ever_ verbalise; it was something of a guilty pleasure - but, had been something consistent towards the end of her relationship with Tyler. Many a night she had woken, fitful when her head was full of him, instead of her boyfriend. Being in his house had strangely, only magnified that.

She shook her head, discarding her thoughts. "Who are you?"

"Silly, I'm a housemaid," the girl replied with a too-white smile. It then fell, when she registered Caroline's obvious confusion.. "…I had specific instructions to bring you breakfast, from Mr Mikaelson."

Caroline's eyes flickered to the maid's wrist. "I'm sorry, I don't drink-"

"Not from Niklaus, it was Elijah," the girl quickly corrected her. She motioned towards the ajar door, and a brunette entered, wearing the same attire. In her hands, she carried a tray with legs, which held a covered silver platter.

The blond vampire gawked, and she began to shake her head. "Surely-"

"He insisted; said you have had a very distressing twenty-four hours and that you'd take it in your room."

Caroline sat up straighter in her bed, and the brunette set down the tray over her thighs.

"Press that buzzer again if you need anything more," the blonde told her from the doorway.

Caroline pitied them; they were pretty, nice girls. Even if the blonde did have bad hair extensions and paid-for dentist teeth.

"Wait!" She called suddenly, mouth speaking before her mind could halt her.

The girl stopped, a frown creeping across her face. "Yes?"

"What were you doing, before you worked here?"

The two maids exchanged reluctant glances.

"Please," Caroline pressed, despite sensing their discomfort.

"Psychology Major," the brunette answered first.

The blonde looked to the floor. "I'd just started a course for Broadcast Journalism."

Caroline felt as though she'd been kicked; until that moment, she'd forgotten the aspiration of her old human self. She leant back into the headboard, disconcerted.

"May I ask why?" The brunette frowned.

"No particular reason…I just…." Caroline looked at her tray, and then back at them.

For a moment no one said, nor did anything, and an uneasy silence hung in the air.

That was, until Caroline registered a strange, rhythmic thundering in the distance. She listened in more carefully, her advanced senses kicking in.

"Where is Niklaus?" She asked the two. A strange tingle erupted in her chest, when she spoke his full name.

"Out riding, ma'am."

Caroline fought her eyebrows from rising. "Oh. Well, thank you for breakfast…that will be all for now." When they didn't really move, she added, "You're dismissed."

They left.

She took the lid off the platter. When she did, the most amazing aroma filled her nostrils. A perfectly cooked omelette, with chives sprinkled on top, and a side of fresh parsley, was centred on white china plate, with silver cutlery wrapped in a navy material napkin. There was also a small decanter of coffee - enough for cup, and another glass, full of orange juice. Caroline tackled that first, finishing the juice, and half a cup of coffee - and then unwrapped the knife and fork. Her stomach growled and her mouth watered with anticipation as she sliced a forkful, and devoured it in an instant, moaning at its flavour.

The thundering in the distance pursued.

Taking a few more mouthfuls, Caroline set the tray aside, and ventured to the bathroom, where she splashed her face with hot water from the basin. Drying it with a towel, she stared into the eyes of her own reflection. The v-neck cotton shirt she wore, left a bare view at her neck. Her fingers drifted to the smooth cream skin of her throat, lingering on her healed wound - besides a slight sensitivity beneath her touch, there was no other physical proof that it had ever existed. Sighing, she returned to her room, and took a bra from her bag, pulling it up beneath the baby-pink cotton of her shirt, and slipping her arms out, and through its straps, she clipped it into place. Next to her duffel lay her chestnut boots that she had worn the fateful night before. Pushing her foot through and zipping up each, she moved towards the far end of the room, where she opened one of the full length window-frame doors.

Stepping out onto the wet pavement covered in leaves, she closed the door behind her and followed a small path on to the frost-covered grass. The cold air bit at her skin, but she took no care to notice it - though she did look above fleetingly at the dark grey cloud overhead; prophesying rain. She inwardly hoped that the Mikaelson's had a big movie collection.

Moving through the garden - whose flora was not yet in bloom, given the season, but nonetheless, still pretty, she stared ahead through brushes and trees, to discover what she had come to investigate. Natural wood posts, greyed with weather, framed an arena with dark sand. In it, a black, athletic horse powered effortlessly, glorious mane flapping, its long tail trailing behind it like a ribbon of ebony.

_A Friesian horse,_ she recalled, remembering having seen an animal just like it in a horse breeds book, when she was a child.

But it wasn't really the beautiful horse that caught her eye.

A thin, slightly regency styled shirt hung loosely from his body, battering in the wind as he cantered large circles. When he kicked his horse forward, she registered the hunt boots with their tan cuffs. The beige material of his breeches. As disoriented as she had been upon first waking, had she immediately stepped out of the bedroom, and witnessed the sight before her…she would have mistaken it for a dream. She could have been looking upon a scene of two-hundred years ago, for all she knew. Gravitating towards it, she stood behind a large shrub and peered through the branches.

Caroline watched in silent awe as his horse blew with each stride, the black tassels of its large hooves churning up the dark, grainy sand of the arena. She noticed how Klaus moved in unity with the animal's pace; it was as if he and the animal were connected. Her eyes followed the fluid movement of his body as it rocked, the relaxed manner in which he held the reins. He looked more at peace, and in his element than she had ever seen him.

It stirred an alien emotion within her. She stepped from her cover of the brush, and stood by an oak tree before the arena. Although she had been sure he had known of her presence before then, he certainly acknowledged it now. His eyes flickered to her person, and he smiled softly, before slowing to a trot, and directing the horse towards her.

Caroline walked up to the fence, and leant against it. "Nice shirt," she called. "You know, not sure whether you've noticed…but the turn of the century has passed," she teased, as he gently pulled on the reins, and his horse came to a halt before her.

His eyes narrowed playfully. "Which one? I have seen so many." When Caroline rolled her eyes at this, his expression fell genuine. "No…," he continued truthfully, "I prefer waring this" - he tugged on the loose material - "actually. They were always better designed for the comfort of a horseman."

"You look like a picture out of a period film," she laughed, eyes scanning his person. But all joking disappeared, when she commented sincerely, "Speaking of a horsemen…you have a lovely seat."

Klaus smiled broadly. "Was that an _open_ compliment?" He collected the reins over the pommel of the saddle, slid both feet from the stirrups, and swung his right leg over his mount's back, before landing gracefully on two feet.

Inner competitiveness stirred within Caroline; it was just another thing he could do perfectly. "I don't know," she goaded. "Maybe."

He chuckled, and his gaze fell to the ground. "Did you sleep well?" He inquired with a certain tenderness.

Caroline's smile fell, and it was replaced with gentle gratitude. "I did…thank you," she murmured.

The corner of his lips tugged upwards, his blue eyes gazing down on her.

For a moment, she could not speak. She recovered from this however, when his horse snorted, making her jump. "He's beautiful." She nodded towards the black beauty. "What is his name?"

Klaus slapped the horse's neck affectionately. "Bertrando," he replied, with an Italian lilt.

Caroline reached out, and tentatively touched the horse's velvety muzzle. "What does that mean?"

The Original watched her ardently. "What, not laughing at it? Many would smirk and search for better means of conversation."

"Well, I'm not many," Caroline responded vaguely, staring into the dark eyes of his mount.

"No," he breathed. "You're not." Observing her a moment, he at last answered her question. "Bertrando means _brilliant raven_. Appropriate, given his coat, his air, and elegance…" Klaus trailed off.

She turned her gaze on him, when the horse began to chew the bit. "Have you finished?"

"Quite," he answered quickly. Embarrassed, he moved to lead the horse away.

"No," she righted him softly, making him halt. "I meant, had you finished riding him?"

Klaus smiled tentatively, and paused, deliberating something. "Would you like to have a ride?" He then offered. "You like horses, don't you?"

Caroline's eyes widened, stunned. "No, I can't…I-"

"It's alright. He may be a stallion, but a very gentle one at that; he won't hurt you," he assured her. "I'll lead you." He took her arm. "Come."

She stared down at his hand on her elbow. He pulled her gently under the single-bar fence.

"I can't," she laughed nervously, staring up at the big horse with subtle fear. "The last time I rode a horse I must have been about nine years old. And I'm not dressed appropriately." She stared down at her leggings, and her winter boots.

"On the contrary, I'd say very appropriately; your boots reach your knees, and have heel enough, and you're wearing stockings."

"Leggings," she corrected.

He rolled his eyes, and laughed.

She looked at both horse and rider warily.

"A vampire," he jested, shaking his head. "Afraid of riding a horse."

"I'm not afraid."

"You're nervous."

"Because I haven't ridden in years - and even then, hardly..."

He looked at her encouragingly. "But you've ridden before. I'd hedge my bets that you're naturally talented, anyway."

"Don't flatter me in the morning," she moaned, throwing her head back. "It has the absolute opposite effect." Her body shook with silent laughter.

"What is it?" He enquired.

She looked at him. "All this" - she motioned universally -"it's just…so…"

"Weird?" He supported, something in his eyes falling slightly.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "I can't put my finger on it. I just…"

"Need to get on the horse." Klaus motioned towards Bertrando.

"I can't even remember how to mount."

"Excuses."

She pushed him, but it didn't unsteady his footing at all.

"Come here," he beckoned.

Something within, made the decision for her. She stepped forward.

Suddenly, his hands circled her waist, and in a moment, she was in the air, and then in the saddle.

"W_hew_," she exhaled, staring down at him. "Don't give me time to think about it, then."She startled to giggle.

"That's the whole idea," Klaus responded. "Put your feet in the stirrups," he then instructed.

She did as he asked, even though they were slightly long. Klaus took the horse by its bridle, looked up to her for a moment, and then walked, leading the noble steed with him. The great stallion fell into a smooth step alongside his owner, and Caroline could not conceal a smile. Holding the reins in one hand, she pressed a palm between Bertrando's withers and shoulder, feeling the great mechanical movement of his muscles beneath her hand.

"How long have you had him?" She wondered aloud.

"He would be about eight years old now."

Caroline's brow furrowed. "So…eight years then?"

"He is the son of one of my favourite mounts," Klaus explained. "I bred both myself."

"Where is he…she?"

"_She_," he confirmed. "Broke her leg five years ago. I had to put her down."

"I'm sorry," Caroline sympathised, face falling. "That must have been hard."

Klaus didn't turn to look at her. "I've had my fair share of dying pets. She was no different, favourite or not."

Caroline pulled on the reins. Bertrando stopped.

Klaus looked up at her in surprise.

"Don't do that," she said wistfully. "Don't…disconnect yourself like that."

"What ever could you mean?" He replied, although he knew very well.

She elaborated anyway. "Don't pretend you don't care. It only makes it more obvious that you do."

His jaw stiffened. "So either way, I am an emotional, open book," he inferred bitterly.

"Quite the opposite," she disagreed. "And I never said that. You're putting words into my mouth. Don't."

Klaus eyes dropped, and his head shook slightly.

Caroline nudged Bertrando's sides. He walked forward, as did Klaus.

They passed two laps of the arena in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, before Klaus pulled up the horse, and turned to face Caroline.

"What?" She questioned the curious look on his face, wondering whether he had more to say about their previous discussion.

He surprised her.

"Do you trust me?" He nearly whispered, tone husky.

Caroline felt her chest rise and fall more noticeably as she considered his question. Though she knew the answer the moment he spoke the question, she answered instead, very quietly, "You are not to be trusted." It wasn't nasty - and her design was certainly not so. She was trifling with him.

But his facial expression told her that he understood her intention. The corner of his mouth even lifted momentarily in a smirk. He reached towards the saddle, and took hold of her stirrup, staring up at her with a smouldering eye.

His fingers brushed against her leg, and she couldn't breathe.

Then he yanked the leather.

The stirrup unhooked.

He moved around to the other side of the horse, and did the same thing.

"What are you doing?" She uttered, staring down at her dangling legs.

Klaus slung the stirrup leathers over his shoulder. He led Bertrando into the centre of the arena, and let go of the reins. "Stay here," he ordered.

He then whisked away in a flash, disappearing with the speed only of a hybrid. Caroline looked after him. Seconds later, he returned; the stirrups were gone, and in its place, he held a very long rein of some sort, with a buckle attached to the end.

Caroline frowned. "What's that?"

Klaus clipped it onto the bridle. "A lunging rope," he responded, checking the girth of the saddle with one hand. "Now," he continued, meeting her eyes again. "Feet and knees pointing forward" - he took left her calf in his hand, and straightened it - "heels down. He ran his hand down to her toe, and directed her upwards.

"You're teaching me how to ride a horse?" She laughed.

He shushed her. "Back and shoulders relaxed - but don't hunch forward."

"So many rules," she remarked.

He gave her a look.

"Right, sorry," she apologised, biting her cheeks to prevent a smile.

"And I want you to have an even weight in your seat bones." His hand rested on the small of her back. "Feel…centred." His hand ran slowly to the top of her thigh, closest to the saddle.

"Klaus," she chastised, losing the function of her lungs once more.

He smirked. "Grip with the inside of your legs, not you knees." His hand away from her leg.

She let out an unsteady breath.

"You're holding your reins well," he observed, eying her hands. "Alright. We're ready." He offered her a small smile, and stepped back, extending the rope as he went. He clicked with his tongue, and Bertrando moved forward.

When they had made a full circle, Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Bored already?" Klaus challenged.

Caroline turned and pouted.

"Trot!" He called.

The great Friesian sprung into step.

Caroline bounced, and laughed. "I'm going to fall off!" She squeaked.

"You're a vampire, don't be so dramatic."

She gripped onto the saddle.

"Let go!" He ordered.

"I can't!"

He was laughing - wide smile, dimples and all. "Let go of all of it. Centre yourself."

"I can't!"

"Let go of the reins. Put your arms out, fingers out," he told her.

Biting her lip, she very slowly did so, and her back straightened.

"Close your eyes," Klaus called.

"No!" She panicked.

"Don't make me compel you," he warned.

Reluctantly, she did it.

"See? You're a natural," he complimented, "just as I suspected."

"Oh shush you. I did have like, one riding lesson. At a fair."

"At age nine. Very accomplished."

"Shut up."

Klaus laughed again. "Do you trust me?" He called.

She stuck her tongue out.

"Canter," he said. Though it was towards Bertrando.

By the time Caroline registered his call, the great horse beneath her was already away.

"No!" She laughed. "I'll-"

"Relax. Feel the horse beneath you." He slackened his hold on the lunging rein.

And she did. He watched as the moment consumed her - the way her seat deepened, and her back straightened without effort.

Then she started to laugh. Her eyes opened, and she stared ahead, the corners of her mouth lifting in the most beautiful smile.

And he knew. He hadn't ever loved her more than he did in that moment. He watched her rock backwards and forwards, her blonde hair framing her flushed, pink cheeks with deep admiration. She was stunning.

Three more circles passed, and he then tugged slightly on the rope. "_Woah_ boy," he called. "Woah."

Bertrando slowed to a walk, and turned in towards Klaus, stopping when his forehead rested against his master's waiting hand. Klaus rubbed his horse's head, and looked up at Caroline.

"How was that?" He asked with gleeful pursed lips.

"Amazing," she breathed, laughing again. "I haven't…_enjoyed_ anything so much, for so long, as I did that. I…"

"I know," he responded knowingly, eyes fervent.

Caroline closed her eyes briefly, and then gathered the reins at the pommel, mimicking his actions of before. She swung her right leg over the saddle, and slipped to the ground. When she swayed slightly, he steadied her with a hand. It rested in the same place it had the night before, however this time it did not grip - it barely touched her. She turned in his arm.

"Thank you, for that," she murmured, eyes flickering between his.

He looked down into them softly, face inching towards hers. He took her hand in his. "You're welcome."

Caroline exhaled, and her hand slipped away. She took Bertrando's bridle. "Now, where does this guy live?"

"You don't have to help," he told her. Though he _wanted_ her to.

"I rode him too. It would be rude of me _not_ to," she reasoned, staring into the eyes of the great animal.

"Right." He went to reach for the reins, but she moved inched them away from him. He chuckled. "You have to put them over his head, if you want to lead him, love."

"Of course." Caroline blushed, and did so.

"Follow me then."

**- TVD -**

Caroline leant against the stall door, as Klaus went to the rear of his stallion, clipping the stable rug into place. "Don't you have servants to do this all for you?" She piped.

Klaus straightened. "Once upon a time. I'm trying to cut down on the help."

Caroline remembered the girls, and the past hour with him was almost spoiled. "Perhaps you should hire more appropriately then." Her tone was thick with disapproval.

Klaus eyes clouded, troubled. "What's the matter?"

Caroline frowned, trying to put her thoughts into words. "Those girls - who served me breakfast this morning? They're not just…_blood-bags_. They're _people_, Klaus."

The hybrid's eyes darkened. "Don't trouble yourself with them, love."

"But they _are_ people," she repeated slowly.

"You take an eager interest in them, then?"

"_I_ was a blood-bag," she explained exasperatedly. "I was manipulated once - nearly killed. And it's not _fair_. If you want maids, then fine…but hire people who actually _want_ to do it. Don't ruin the future of those young women just because they taste nice with a side of dessert." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Take the blonde one for example; she was just beginning a course in broadcast journalism-"

"I found her waitressing in a bar-"

"A _college_ bar, I assume." She stood up straight. "Want to know something? Her and I aren't so dissimilar."

Something flared in Klaus' eyes. "Do not compare yourself to her, or anyone like it. Ever. Don't lower yourself, like that-"

"You say that," Caroline interrupted, "but I wanted to venture into the career of _broadcast journalism_, before everything happened to me. At one stage, _I_ was human blood-bag. I mean, I was a desperate little-"

Klaus moved up to the door. "It's evident you prefer the person you are now, to the girl you once were," he cut her off, not wishing for her to demoralise herself. "So why trouble yourself into making connections with those girls? That blonde is of the dregs of society - aspiring broadcast journalist or not. For all you know the furthest she would have made it in the industry would have been fetching coffees and straightening biscuit platters for the five AM reporters."

"How can you be so insensitive?" Caroline grumbled, pushing off the door, and setting down the short aisle briskly.

"Caroline!" Klaus called after her, but she didn't stop.

He let himself out of the stall, locked it, and set after her. Getting in front of her, he pulled her up. "Both girls were penniless. I offered them the job without compulsion, and they accepted. Even if it meant that they had to put their _careers_ on hold until they could afford it."

Caroline shook her head. "But they would have never _made_ it back to their careers. You would have _eaten_ them, by then." When he went to talk, she put a restraining hand out. "Don't." She brushed past him.

"What would you have me do, then?" He hailed.

She paused mid-step, and turned. "Give them their lives back."

"I can't make everyone happy for you." He sighed. "Every second person is going to have their own tale of woe, Caroline," he said tiredly. "If we listened to everyone's pity story, the world would be fair - but it's not."

She took a step towards him. "Have those girls got enough money to pay for their tuition yet?"

He shook his head.

"How good are their wages?"

He rolled his head back. "How wealthy do you think I am, love?" _Rhetorical question._

"Too wealthy," she muttered, folding her arms across her chest. She paused. "You do _pay _them, don't you?"

He didn't say anything.

"_Klaus_!" She gasped in angry surprise. "You _lied _to me?"

"I never said that I paid them, and I give them money if ever they need it," he defended.

"That's not the same! How long have they been working here?"

"A couple of months. Why does it matter to you so much?"

"Because you can't _do_ that to people!" She fired back. "You've just got _stop _being _so_-"

"So what?" He sneered, stepping in towards her.

"So…so _repulsive_! You don't _have_ to be!"

"_Why_ does it matter?"

"I'm trying to make you better!" She snapped, and then was taken aback, when she realised what she had just said.

"How?" He enjoined. "I'm _pure evil_, aren't I? You think so. Everyone else, thinks so."

"People's opinions aren't what makes the person. You don't have to _be_ this way," she argued heatedly. "The way you are - it's a choice. You may have grown into it, but it's a habit you can break. You don't_ have_ to lash out. There is humanity in you and I know it's there!" She took a deep, composing breath. "I've _seen_ it."

"What of it, then?" He demanded through his teeth. "Do you see into my deep, wounded soul with hopes of healing it?"

"I can't heal it," she admitted plainly, which visibly made him still with shock. "And I get the feeling that even if I _would_, you wouldn't want me to. But you saved my life, last night. I'm just returning the favour."

"There is no debt," he murmured. _She still doesn't get it,_ he thought frustratedly.

She looked out towards the arena. "You say that, but I don't feel that way. I feel indebted," she reasoned. "Because I know that you're not _living_. You've spent the last thousand just _existing_." Subconsciously, she took a step towards him. "As your friend - _as you decided last night_ - let me help you."

His blue eyes were a layer thicker with moisture. "What makes you so sure that I'm worth it?"

Her hands dropped by her sides. "I've caught myself wishing that I could forget, all the horrible things that you've done; granted, it would be much easier if you hadn't, and _won't_ commit them at all, but I know that that's just a part of your character that we'll have to live with," she answered. "And as much as I may have been repulsed by you, in the past...there's _goodness_, in you."

"Who's the 'we'?" Klaus singled out, slightly crestfallen that it wasn't only she, but curious as to who else had hope for him.

The first droplet from the dark grey clouds overhead splattered on the ground beside them.

"Stefan and I, and you," Caroline replied easily. "He's more connected to you, than I'll ever be. You two were really close, once upon a time, and he was friends with you, for a _reason_." The next few raindrops hit them. "Sometimes, I think he still tries to look for that reason, despite everything you've done - even if you yourself believe that you're a lost cause."

Klaus turned his head to the side in interest. "Where does your sudden security in me, founder from?"

Caroline looked up to the sky that she had studied so briefly before, as more and more rain fell.

"It's nothing sudden," she revealed, looking back down, and at him again. "Stefan is a good person. I think I probably trust his opinion over anyone else's. Even my own. So, if he sees something in you worth fighting for, then I see _reason_. It's not without purpose."

"So nothing comes from you alone, then?" He surmised, despondent. He turned on his heel, towards the stables again, as the raindrops began to fall in sheets

"Where are you going?" It was her turn to follow him.

"I haven't finished," he answered, striding ahead.

"Neither have I!" She jogged to keep in stride with him, deciding against using speed; he could have run faster. Or worse - disappeared all together.

Which, admittedly and most of all, she feared the most.

"Klaus."

He didn't halt.

"Klaus." She yanked his arm as they came to the doorway.

"We're friends, you say?" He turned a hard eye on her, leaning in close. "Yet you still rely on someone else's good opinion. Why can't you have one of your own?" He moved to go again.

She held onto his arm tightly. "I do."

The rain began to bucket down, hitting the ground with such force it began to sweep into the stables.

Klaus and Caroline broke out of their trance of anger, momentarily.

"Get the other door," he told her, as he moved to pull in one.

She obliged him.

The heavy doors clicked closed.

Klaus watched her for split second, but then immediately moved towards the feed room. Taking two buckets, he moved to the metal bins, and began filling them with chaff and pellets. His actions were mechanic, irritated.

Caroline leant across the door frame, arms folded.

When he finished with the bins, he sat them on a small table, and took two containers and a bottle from a shelf. When he opened the lids, Caroline smelt garlic, and linseed. He divvied a cup of each into both buckets, and then opened the lid of the bottle.

"What's that?" She asked, in effort to spark some conversation from him.

"A molasses-based supplement," he replied shortly. After putting some in each, he took both buckets in hand, and brushed past Caroline. Entering Bertrando's stall, he sat the bucket in holder designed for it. Quitting that stall, he ventured across the hall to a big, bay horse.

Caroline had spied him on the way in, but she'd been too busy playing with Klaus' horse.

"Who does this one belong to?" She asked. "Is he another of yours?"

"Elijah's."

"What's his name?"

"Hugo." Klaus set the bucket down, and ran his hand along the horse's neck when it buried it's head in its food.

"What breed?"

"Thoroughbred." Klaus shut the stable door.

"Is he a stallion too?"

"No." He set off down the aisle.

"How do you find time to feed them - in between everything else?"

Klaus opened one of the doors, and peered outside.

The rain had lightened off.

He set out, and she followed, slamming the door behind her.

He had no reason to hasten - he enjoyed the rain."As with many things - about a week ago I had _help_," he finally answered, as they headed towards the house.

Caroline halted in the garden, frustrated. "Do you _blame_ me, for that? Are you secretly still _holding_ a grudge against me, or something?"

Klaus turned and stormed the few steps back towards her. "All I had worked for in a thousand years was torn down in the space of a couple of months by your boyfriend. All because of his _hatred_, _jealousy _and_ contempt_." He turned once more. "I can understand you may have ambitions for yourself, but imagine your sole purpose for a _millennium_ being torn away from you by an _ignorant boy_ who has seen _nothing_ but _eighteen years_."

Caroline caught up to him, but stopped again under the bare branches of a jacaranda tree when a thought dawned on her. "Is that what you think of me then?"

He whipped around. "You know that's not what-"

"How am I any different?" She swallowed at a growing lump in her throat - but it was already making her hoarse. "I've seen nothing more than eighteen summers. I don't know anything of the world." She wrapped arms around the damp cotton clinging to her torso, and inhaled unsteadily. "What makes me so different? I'm just as naïve."

"You_ still_ don't understand, do you?" He shook his head, and went to move again.

"Tell me how I don't! Because all I get from you are vague, hollow arguments that I can't make any sense or reason from," she yelled, cracking. "I get that you just _vent_ because you're _hurt_, and I am _reaching_ out to you despite all of this...but you still can't go out of your way to_ empathise_ - let alone at least explain why you _can't_!" She clawed her head with hard fingers. "_God_. I mean, how quickly do you forget that _he_ betrayed me too? You're not the only one struggling with yourself." She choked, and her arms dropped. "And I am _trying,_ with you. I _am_."

He stepped towards her, face still with sadness. "Caroline."

She moved back, hands in front of her. "Everything for me is _screwed_. I have a two day leave pass, and if I don't go _they'll_ kill my Mom." Her palms flattened on her abdomen. "I can't _deal_ with this. Not a second that goes by, there isn't a nagging sensation of paranoia that I'm being _watched_; I feel like a ticking time bomb. Tyler is about to flick the switch on his humanity, which means that he'll feel no remorse, and then he'll kill Mom, and I just…" - she covered her face with her hands - "I don't have my Dad to tell me what to do anymore. One of my best friends is obsessed with magic and the other is about to slip off the rails…I don't have anybody to _help_, and I just need someone to tell me what do," she cried, breaking.

The whole time she had spoken, he had been edging towards her, but she hadn't noticed, until strong arms enveloped her frame, pulling her to his chest. He cradled her head against his already soaked shirt, stroking her mattered locks.

"You were right," she continued tearily against his chest. "I'm just _pathetic_-"

"I never said that you were pathetic."

"But you said that I was a _scared vampire_."

"It was a joke, love, appropriate to your behaviour towards getting on a horse."

"But it's true. I'm no _better_ than I was when I was human."

"No," he disagreed, holding her at arms length, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Because I wouldn't have cared for that girl. Granted, there are aspects of her, that I see in you - but they're only the _important_ things that ever existed. Everything _else_ about_ that _personality, is nonessential and gone." His right hand went to her neck, and his gaze became more direct. "And you have every right to be scared of your own shadow, at the moment, love. You've had quite a fright." His sad eyes encouraged her.

She stared at him a moment, before her eyes shifted past his head, towards the house. She took her arm back, and moved away from his hold. Rubbing the rainwater from her brow - though it was useless - she turned back to him, and went to say something, but overhead the sky let out a thundering crack, and she faltered.

"Inside," was all he said.

She didn't argue.

* * *

_**A/N:** Guess this was the__ KC comfort scene from 4x17 that we missed out on...then ;) I wanted him to be able to _comfort her._ She's conflicted, and she's trying to figure herself out, but she's also doubting herself a bit (for her poor judgement of Tyler's character [he tried to kill her]) and Klaus will be fundamental in re-instilling her self worth, so hence the, "Forever is composed of nows" quote ;) _

_As always, you guys are amazing with your reviews/favs/follows and you know I appreciate it so much, so thank you! xx  
_


	11. Precarious

_Whew. It's been a while: a month. I have missed writing this story like absolute crazy - but finding the time to write in between all my schoolwork at the moment has been unbelievably difficult. I missed you guys so much, and I really hope this chapter makes up for my absence - thank you to all who have stuck with me. Enjoy loves! xx_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own these characters/places [I mean, please, if I did, there would be no Klayley. Ew.] Jane Eyre references again; don't own them, for literary purposes only! Full disclaimer on my profile page: most of you know that already - but let's not do anymore reciting. Get reading. Jeez!**_

* * *

**11. Precarious**

* * *

_"All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem." _- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Caroline's feet slid against the wet, autumn-leave sodden bricks as she followed the placement of Klaus' nimble footsteps. They neared a rather protected, simpler sector of the house. Unlike the grandeur of the rest of the mansion, the small window-panelled door that Klaus opened led to a little, unexciting room. When he held the door open for her, she entered only to be greeted by the scent of leather, and the faintest of mustiness. The walls of the room were an off white, though when she scanned the area, Caroline spied the faint marks of dirk scuffed towards the bottom of the wooden skirtboarding. Boots were lined up on racks - some, spotless - others, scuffed with wear. Coats hung from great hooks on the wall - some, leather oilskins, others, soft raincoats. Those that were heavier, no doubt designed for a much harsher winter than Mystic Falls'. Caroline turned her head to the side curiously, wondering.

The sound of wet leather brushing against sodden material made her turn her head.

Klaus was carefully removing his tall boots, mouth twisted in concentration.

"What?" She mumbled.

He looked up, eyes genuinely serious. "I don't want to stretch or tear the leather."

Caroline spluttered, laughing.

Klaus stopped tugging on the boot. "What?"

"Nothing I'm just" - she pressed a balled fist to her lips - "having a moment - I'm sorry." She took a deep breath, and went to look at him again as he removed the first boot fully, and moved on to the second.

He tugged it off quickly, and tossed his aside, sauntering towards her with pressed lips. "What?" He repeated.

She caught her breath. "Just continuing to acknowledge...interesting characteristics," she explained calmly, gaze solemn. "That's all."

Though she saw something in his eyes, they rolled, and he went into the laundry.

Caroline unzipped her own boots, and laid them beside his. Her eyes snapped towards a crevice in the door - from where, she could see him peeling the wet material of his shirt from his body. Shuddering, she went to tear her eyes away…but couldn't.

He tossed the shirt on a marble bench, and although he had felt her eyes on him the entire time, he only acknowledged her then.

"Do you want to strip down too, love?"

Caroline started - both from his words, and the direct gaze that followed. Recovering, she scoffed, "Look, I'm not sure if this is some creepy new way of flirting but I-"

He blurred to the door.

His bare chest still glistened from the water that had soaked through his shirt, and she had to force herself to keep a level eye - but even _that_ was challenge in itself.

"I assure you, love - if this were under different circumstances, and you were taking your shirt off…we wouldn't be _flirting_." He smirked, raising an eyebrow in self-amusement.

Caroline pulled a sour face. "Be serious."

He rolled his eyes. "Look, I can have one of the girls clean your clothes and have them to you before you head off." Some sort of question pondered in his eyes; he was asking her - he didn't want her to go. But he knew she'd take it the wrong way.

She did.

Caroline froze at the end of his sentence. _He's kindly asking you to leave,_ she thought dryly. _Nice. _She mentally shook off the irritation. _But it's not like you wanted to stay on anyway, though - right? _

"You don't have to make them do that," she managed to blurt, amidst her thoughts. "I can chuck a load on when I get home." She felt sick.

She couldn't go home. _Why doesn't he get it?_ _ Does he seriously think his sister won't follow through on her dues?_ She thought dismally, indignantly. She had to leave - not just his house; she had to get out of town. She couldn't be selfish, and put her mother in danger.

_I just want you to understand. _She stared into his eyes, asking a question she never thought she would. _Take me away._

For a moment, it almost seemed as though he understood; his eyes softened, and his lips parted to speak - but then doubt hardened his features, and a feigned cheek returned again. "I insist," he went on to persuade. "And if you so much as make a move towards cleaning them yourself, I will be quite content to throw you over my shoulder and lock that door to keep you out."

Caroline bit her lip, eyes dubious. "That's a bit dramatic," she muttered, blocking her blackening thoughts.

Klaus shrugged.

She rolled her head, frowning. "Are you that against someone domestic?"

The cheek in Klaus' eyes softened. "A woman as beautiful as you should not trouble herself with such things," he responded sincerely.

Her heart fluttered: _Woman._ He had called her a woman. Tyler had only ever called her a _girl_; a _babe_.

"I thought I told you not to flatter me in the morning," she mumbled - so breathily it was almost inaudible.

Klaus smiled; she had taken it as a compliment.

Caroline shook her head roughly, loosening his toxic influence. "I'm not walking through your house in my underwear, if that's your twisted scheme," she told him curtly. "You probably have security cameras lining the hallways, and I'm-"

He left the door, and was back in a moment, shirt in hand.

"Elijah will be missing that," Caroline commented dryly. "And doesn't that defeat the purpose of not wasting time washing stuff?"

He tossed it at her. "He's not a _Valentino_ fan."

"You then?" Caroline frowned skeptically, catching it neatly.

"I think it actually belonged to one of Rebekah's unfortunate suitors."

Caroline's face darkened disapprovingly.

He laughed. "I'm kidding," he amended, stepping through the doorframe, his abdomen brushing against her side. "It's mine. And I don't mind."

**- TVD -**

"Don't you dare turn around," she growled, covering the thinly layer cotton cover her torso with folded arms.

He smirked. "I'd never dishonour you by making you feel uncomfortable, love."

"You're not _that_ perfect," she muttered. "I'm drowning in your feigned morality - please, spare me."

They neared her door. Klaus opened his mouth to speak, but it fell short when an engine cut off outside, and hasty footsteps slapped on the pavement towards the door. It opened.

"Klaus?" A girl yelled.

All too familiar:

It was Elena.

"K_laus_!"

The man himself rolled his eyes, and set off down the hall.

"Undearest-to-me dopplegänger," he called in an even greeting upon seeing her. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Elena bit the insides of her cheeks. "I need your help."

Klaus' eyes narrowed. "How ironic; you coming to me, for help."

Not far off, Caroline had moved to the place she had stood the night before - out of sight, and in earshot. She cleared her throat at his toying.

"Who was that?" Elena immediately caught on.

"My maiden."

Caroline scoffed silently.

Elena's blatant confusion seeped into her voice, caught in his mixed messages."Your maid?"

"_Yes._ I have two." Klaus folded his arms across his bare chest.

Caroline glared through the crevice of the door when she watched Elena's eyes sweep ever so quickly of the breeches-clad muscled legs of the hybrid. Je_alousy?_ She determined - though this surety was quickly replaced by denial. _Don't be ridiculous. _

"What do you want?" Klaus demanded, shaking both women from their separate trances.

Elena exhaled slowly. "I need you to call off your brother; tell him to take back his compulsion on Damon."

Caroline frowned. What compulsion?

But her friend continued, explaining anyway. "When your brother killed all of those vampires you turned, he realised he needed the…Hunter - my _brother_ dead. He started rambling about raising Silas being the end of the world, and-"

"So what would you have me do?"

"Call him."

Klaus huffed.

Elena stomped her foot. "You need my brother alive to get that cure, and make your hybrids."

Klaus hesitated. "I don't need my hybrids anymore." He pulled out his phone, and frowned at it a moment.

"Nice bluff - you're just being lazy!"

"_Lazy_?" Klaus laughed ridiculously. "It doesn't _matter _to me anymore."

Elena tone was hard, when she answered with, "But it matters to _Caroline_. She would want you to save Jeremy."

Caroline's felt as though Elena's words had pinned her back against the wall. Although she knew Elena was right, it bothered her. _Everyone _knew, and took advantage of her…_understanding_ with Klaus. Anger swirled in her stomach: she wasn't to be used, and neither was someone's love for her - regardless whether she reciprocated or not. It wasn't fair - playing on someone's emotions. It was a form of manipulation almost worse - if not - than compulsion; because people had a choice, whether or not to participate, she decided. She knew she had manipulated him - like Elena was at that very moment.

At that moment, unbidden, recognising that fault made her feel ill with guilt. She hadn't been fair to him - she wasn't any better than the rest of them; _using _him.

Shaking her head, Klaus's movement snagged her attention. He'd left the foyer, and returned.

He waved his phone in front of Elena, and his fingers swiped across the screen. He lifted it to his ear. "Brother."

Kol rambled on the other end of the line, but Caroline couldn't be bothered to strain her ears to pick it up. She only listened to his responses.

"That's enough," he said harshly. "Cut the Salvatore loose."

After Kol muttered a sentence more in response, Klaus ended the call.

Elena watched him expectantly. "Well?"

Klaus almost looked rueful. "I couldn't check him." He paused. "I'm…s-" He turned. "You can see yourself out."

Elena only stayed a moment longer - in which time, Caroline deliberated stepping out and bidding her farewell. Telling her why she had to leave. Why her mom was in danger. But in doing that, she would have to explain why she was clad in Klaus' shirt alone - why his chest and feet were bare. Let alone, why she was there in the first place. And she wasn't ready to do that yet.

The front door closed, pushing through a gust of cold air.

"It's impolite to eavesdrop." Klaus had swept before her in the wave of cool air from Elena's exit. "But I see you're making a sport of listening in on my conversations anyway, aren't you?"

Caroline crossed her bare legs firmly where she stood. "This was only the second time. Let's not get too dramatic."

Though he normally would have relished in staring into her eyes, under the circumstances, the allure of her lean, bare legs was almost enough to make them stray. "You should get dressed," he managed, swallowing. "I'm sure you have…homework to do, or...something." He turned on his heel, muscles of his bare back rippling as he tensed.

Embarrassed, Caroline swept down the hall, and closed the door quickly behind her, leaning against it when she had. She closed her eyes.

_That's enough_, her conscience snapped. _It's a good thing he wants you to leave; every moment longer you spend here with him, you're jeopardising your sanity._

She stared at her open duffel bag, and her heart slowed.

_Oh for God's sakes; he's not that bad, _her little devil yawned. _Don't be too dramatic, yourself._

Moving to the bedside table, Caroline reached for her phone. Until that moment, she had all but forgotten it. Turning it on, it immediately buzzed incessantly with alerts regarding missed calls and unattended texts. The first four were from her mum. They all said pretty much the same thing; she'd arrived home to find the house empty, early that morning when she'd come home for a fresh uniform, and she just wanted to know where she was. The last one of the four messages made Caroline smile.

_"Honey, it's me, again,"_ her mother laughed breathily. _"I know that this is like, my fifth message or something…and you're probably off fighting baddies and saving the world. But please, just let me know that you're okay. I'm not worried, because I know you can take care of yourself…but for my peace of mind could you just…yeah. Okay, love you."_

Caroline resolved that she would call once she had filtered through the other messages.

Another was from Bonnie.

_"Hey Care - we didn't really get a chance to catch up the other night after everything that happened at school. Maybe a coffee tomorrow together, for something a bit normal? I don't know…"_ she struggled. _"Just call me."_

Then Elena.

_"Hey, look - I know that I haven't been the best friend at the moment but Damon and me-"_

Caroline didn't finish the message. She cast the phone aside, and covered her face with her hands, falling back into the soft duvet of the bed.

Admittedly, there was something she liked about being at the Mikaelson's; it almost felt as though it were a world away from her own. Their life undoubtedly intrigued her - if anything, riding Klaus' horse this morning, had proved that. It wasn't outwardly different to anything "normal" (because, honestly, horses were normal and many a person in the world owned one) but it was just the fact that this…person that everyone had assumed to only be a volatile, self-destructive man...wasn't what they thought he was.

_Correction_, she mentally halted herself: he wasn't who _she_ had thought he was. She'd told him before that she liked him better, because Stefan did - and his good judgment was not to be contradicted. The truth, however, that she had only barely, secretly, admitted to herself was that she was beginning to see reason in his character, because of the news ways she was experiencing him.

_Experiencing, _she nit-picked sourly._ Nice._

She reached for her phone once more.

One more voicemail, from an unknown number. She opened it, and pressed her cell to her ear.

_"I see you haven't yet made the effort to remove yourself from Mystic Falls,"_ Rebekah's recorded voice stated with its same, old tinge of boredom. _"Twenty-four hours to run for the hills - don't mistaken an ultimatum for grace, dear. I would have felt worse about this whole thing had I not given you a head start."_ She paused, and if it were possible, her voice grew even more tormenting. _"Your mother looks lovely today, by the way. Something bright about her cheeks; a successful sleepover playing housewife to her new colleague, I assume?"_

The message ended.

Caroline hadn't realised how tightly she gripped the cotton of the bedspread with her free hand until she heard the fibres split in protest. How could she have fooled herself into thinking that she was safe at all? _Tomorrow morning, _she decided. _At dawn._ If she could extend the invitation just that bit longer, so she could slip out undetected by Tyler and Rebekah. If everyone was asleep, she could see her Mom. Not get caught.

Her heart thundered with fear, and ached with loss at the prospect of running away: leaving everything behind.

She dropped her phone onto the bedspread, and knelt by her duffle. The maids had already cleaned her clothes from the night before, and put them back in her bag for her. She reached down to the bottom, where she found her English text, and exercise book. Taking a pen and highlighter also, she moved towards the window seat, and opened _Jane Eyre_. Her eyes fixated on the words, as she struggled to process them. Caroline wriggled, trying to get comfortable in the seat, feeling the penetrating cold air from outside through the glass, chilling her skin. She inhaled deeply - and his scent filled her nostrils. She buried her nose in her shoulder, closing her eyes. Exhaling deeply, ordering away all negative thought, and focussed on her book. Amidst reading, a fluttery feeling danced around in her stomach; he'd made her settle - his scent had. She smirked to herself, briefly acknowledging the irony in recalling how often he, in turn, _unsettled _her too.

Without feeling it, time passed. Getting lost in an epic love story felt nice - and ironic, because although she would not admit it, she was beginning to get lost in one of her own. But having the stubborn nature that she did - she wouldn't submit to it. Not yet.

A knock on the door disturbed her immersed reading. It opened enough for a head to poke through.

Klaus smiled. "It's lunchtime, love."

Caroline looked down at her stomach.

He let out a small laugh. "Is it going to talk to you?"

"It generally does," she answered, "but I'm not really that hungry."

He shook his head. "Come on. I'm not taking care of you if I don't feed you."

Letting out an exasperate sigh, she sat down the book, and sprung off. "You don't need to take care of me."

His eyes flickered to her legs. "Not cold?"

Caroline looked down, and flushed scarlet. "Nope," she answered with confidence. She went to her bag, and withdrew her clean jeans, tugging them on.

"Right," he smirked. "Come on." Palm hovering just above the small of her back, he guided her down the hall to the dining room.

- TVD -

Elijah cleared his throat, and rested his knife and fork in the centre of his plate. "Have you any plans for when you leave school, Caroline?"

Klaus chewed very slowly.

Her eyes glazed over at his question. _Yeah. Long time ago,_ she thought wistfully, _when things were simple. _She could _feel_ Klaus gaze boring into her, though she did not_ see_ it. When she had returned to school days before, seniors were bustling to the careers office with forms regarding apprenticeships, gap years and university applications.

None of which, she had done herself.

"None," whispered Caroline eventually, echoing her own thoughts. "I…um. I haven't really…" _What are you doing here? _She panicked internally, when both men said nothing in her silence. _You shouldn't be here. It's awkward. Get out. God, imagine what they think of you? Between them they've probably attended every college in the world, learnt every language and studied every subject there is to know. What have _you _done? What are you _going_ to do with your life? _Caroline grit her teeth, feeling buds of preparation begin at her hairline. Her lunch churned in her stomach. _Snap out of it. So what? You haven't planned anything for yourself. Don't be embarrassed. Relax._ "There are universities that accept late applications, so there's still hope for me yet," she eventually added lightly, but it was transparent.

"All in good time," Elijah supported gently. "But if you ever need us to assist in getting you in somewhere, you know we'd be more than happy to help. I understand that it's well within your capabilities to compel, but we mean financially, of course."

Caroline bit the inside of her cheek, unable to fathom a rational response. _"_Thank you. That's…_" Kind? Generous? More than you could have hoped for? Cheap of you? Shouldn't you pay for it yourself? You can't cheat. You'd be letting yourself down. _The roast beef began doing flips in her stomach.

"Caroline - are you all right, love?"

Her eyes lifted.

It was Klaus who had spoken.

She exhaled unsteadily, gaze diverting from his person. It rested on the intricate detail of the rug beneath her feet. "May I please be excused?" She looked up. "I need to get some homework done, and then pack my things." _Please extend my stay, so I can sneak out at the crack of dawn, disappear - which will save my mother - and then never see you again, _her mind chirped. Her internal response sat on the edge of her tongue.

"You're not leaving, are you?" Elijah's face fell, and he cast a narrowed gaze towards Klaus.

"I only said so because I thought you would want to-" Klaus began.

"No, he's right," Caroline interrupted him. "I do need to get home - I've got so much work to complete before my finals… " she trailed off, the sides of her mouth lifted in a grimace, instead of a smile, and she rose from her seat. When she went to move, Elijah caught her by the wrist.

"Caroline, I hope you don't plan to leave tonight," he said. "My brother are a lonesome two, but you're welcome here as long as you like."

Her eyes flickered to Klaus, and then back to Elijah. She went to open your mouth.

"Either of us are happy to drive you home in the morning, if that's what you would like," Elijah reasoned, preventing her from protesting - although he somewhat sensed her relief, however it was something he kept to himself.

She nodded solemnly. "Thank you…for everything." Turning, she thanked the girls for their services, and took leave, feeling the Mikaelson's staring after her in confusion

Crossing through the main foyer, Caroline blocked out any advanced sense, purely wishing to entertain her thoughts - or lack thereof - in silence, without receiving the tail-ends of the brothers' discussions.

**- TVD -**

Dinner passed far more comfortably that evening than lunch had earlier. Up until then, Caroline had been busy reading through her novel, and annotating. The language demanded a second reading to make sense, and she had been struggling to find a page that didn't resonate with her. It felt strange, that amidst the threat hanging over her head to leave town, she still studied; she had no idea how long she would be gone for, and she wasn't about to throw away her senior year because she'd been betrayed and threatened. No; people had graduated under many greater pressures.

During their meal - and discussion - Caroline had brought up the novel she was studying, when Elijah had asked. Klaus - pleased by the revelation, had swept upstairs after dinner, and returned with a first edition copy of the book in hand. Caroline had died of excitement upon seeing it; she loved the novel, and the story. A month or so, ago - it had been the greatest book in the world.

Until she couldn't help but draw parallels to her own dark love interest.

They were in the library, at that moment - she, reading, while Klaus sketched quietly in his seat by the fire. It was nice; it had an enigmatic feel of _normality. _Sinking deeper into the seat of the chair, Caroline swinging her legs over the arm, and with a sigh, began a new chapter. Klaus' greylead swept across the page efficiently. With every line he drew, his usually severe face softened - replaced by soft admiration.

Caroline knew that he was drawing her, but she averted commenting on it. Instead, she asked in a quiet murmur, something that had probed her a while; something totally left-wing, but on her conscience after the night before. "Why haven't you ever left?" There was no harm in sparking conversation; she couldn't focus on her book - especially not when _he _was in the room.

Klaus frowned, pencil halting mid-line. "What ever do you mean? What was I doing yesterday?"

Brows furrowing, Caroline exhaled slowly. "No…by your own free will; just for the sake of wanting to be somewhere, because you love it so much," she responded quietly. "I mean, you could live anywhere in the world," she then pointed out. "I just don't understand how Mystic Falls holds so much _allure_ for you."

Klaus' eyes glistened with cheek. "I like the quiet life. Mystic Falls doesn't have too much drama, and I really feel like I've acclimated myself well, here."

"Bull." Caroline shook her head.

He rolled his eyes. "This was my home once upon a time, too."

She softened, cheeks drawing in with quiet sorrow. "What was it like?" She heard herself whisper.

He rested the pencil against his drawing pad. "Simple," he reminisced. "You couldn't begin to imagine what it was like without everything; technology, transportation, communication. You had the world reachable on foot or horseback, or if you were lucky enough, by sea - and that was it, really."

"Which life do you prefer?"

She received another eye-roll.

"Fine," Caroline redirected. "Then, other than the Twenties, what was you favourite time-period?"

"New Orleans, in the eighteenth century. During the American Revolution." Klaus smiled. "And France, in their Revolution."

Caroline stiffened. "You were _there_?"

He nodded. "And England. I had an estate there, but I commuted often to France. New Orleans, I helped build, though I travelled between continents a fair bit - particularly to France in the earlier days of the Revolution." His eyes wandered. "It was a passionate place."

Caroline pulled a sour face. "It was a bloody place."

"I was vampire. All the blood really wasn't an issue," he smirked. "I'll admit, it may have led to me losing my appetite occasionally; the stench, the gallons of crimson from spilled innocents." He rolled his shoulders. "But there was something about the _passion. _The _fight. _The hope."

Caroline cocked her head to the side. "You could have saved the Royal family. You could have compelled-"

He leant forward in his chair - and the response that came afterwards stunned her. "Caroline - understand this. If you have the power to influence human history, you have to ask yourself what would come of it; meaning, potentially what you'd be changing. I don't deny that I'm a bad person…but messing up the future of the human race? That would have just been pointless, and…inconvenient. Brutal as it was, if that Revolution hadn't gone the way it did, we could be living in a very different world right now." Klaus seemed serious for a moment, but then he shrugged, eyebrows raising nonchalantly. "We'd probably be speaking French."

"Doubt it." Caroline laughed, but then nodded slowly, impressed. "But that was very insightful…almost _too_ insightful, for you," she added lightly.

Klaus sighed. "A thousand years breeds a lot of insight, believe me." His eyes glazed over with an old sort of loneliness. He felt her eyes on him - boring into his face. "What?" He asked, without looking at her.

She smiled, bemused. "You're just…I don't know…" she trailed off in a whisper. "I can't put my finger on it. I can't…put my finger on _you_. I can't figure you out."

Klaus pursed his lips, setting the drawing pad aside. "How do I confuse you?"

Caroline shook her head. "No," she corrected him. "You don't _confuse_ me. Puzzle me, I guess." She leant back into her seat, flicking open to her bookmarked page once more. "I'm just continuing to acknowledge interesting characteristics," she repeated her earlier words, as the corner of her mouth lifted gently. "That's all."

As she read, he watched her with warm adoration.

Klaus knew that she was aware of his gaze, and every now and then, when she thought about it, a rouge flush coloured her cheeks; he knew. Adoration clouded his eyes when she bit her lip, trying to decipher the old English language.

Caroline let out a crisp exhale, brow furrowing, and tucked her legs up on the chair. She didn't turn the page for a little while - and that was when he took an opportunity.

"Struggling with the language, love?"

She jerked, eyes darting from the page to him. "I…not really, I just-"

He stood, and came to her chair, resting against its arm. His hand rested lightly on her warm shoulder, and he leant close. "Let me see."

Slowly, she turned the book towards him - and he could hear how her heart thundered.

_"I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you - especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs," _he recited in his smooth, rich voice, "_tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. And if that boisterous channel, and two hundred miles or so of land some broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapt; and then I've a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly. As for you, - you'd forget me." _He looked up from the book, eyes catching hers. Caroline's eyes were wide, unsure. Her chest rose and fell in nervous fluxes of air. He reached out, and rested a palm on her heaving chest. "What is it?" He whispered.

She didn't answer. She couldn't.

"Caroline," he whispered, am retracting, eyes sad. "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable; that's never my intention." A sort of fear swept across her eyes, and he watched as it iced over.

"But you do look to provoke a response," she mumbled, eyes flickering the page. Her fingers clawed the book cover.

He moved back the slightest. "Do you really hate me that much?"

She frowned, shaking her head, sternum still lifting with her deep breaths. "I don't. Don't do that. I just…"

He reached for her, and immediately regretted it.

She was on her feet. Discarding the book, her fingers kneaded her forehead. "I should…I'm going to go and pack my things."

Klaus' face twisted painfully. "Love-"

"_God,_ just stop it!" She blurted, hands dropping to her abdomen. She exhaled, settling herself. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell," she immediately amended in a murmur. "I'm sorry." She grabbed her book, and made for the door. "I'll be out of your hair soon."

On her way out, she bumped into Elijah. Other than apologising, she said no more, and swept past him, as he entered.

Klaus slid into Caroline's seat, head in his hands. He looked up when his brother passed him.

Elijah's gaze was very direct; it demanded an answer. "Caroline is upset."

Klaus laughed bitterly. "You noticed?"

His older brother took his seat. "What did you do?"

"I don't know!" He replied helplessly, incredulous. "What ever I say makes her upset. I can't open my mouth without insulting her."

Elijah leant back into the chair. "I don't think you're _insulting_ her, Niklaus."

"Confusing her, then."

"Yes."

Klaus glared.

"But in the _right_ way," Elijah reasoned. "It's stirring emotions - questions - not instilling negative unsureness. She cares about you - whether she tries to deny it, or you struggle to accept it." He sighed, and reached for his brother's sketchbook - a subtle smile reaching his face as he took in the accurate depiction of the women whom had only occupied the room moments before. "It's ironic, on your behalf," he added in a bemused murmur, "because all you aspire for - and want - is for her to reciprocate your feelings."

Klaus leant forward, palms pressed together, resting against his lips. "But you see that's just the thing." He shook his head, struggling to order his thoughts. "There's just these moments, where she's…passionately optimistic. When she seems like she cares…or at least wants to," he enlightened slowly. "I can't be sure, though. For the moment, I'd rather be her friend, if I couldn't be anything else to her." He leant back. "I just don't know how to get through to her, though."

Elijah stared vacantly into the licking flames of the fireplace. "I think you have, Niklaus," he contradicted in a murmur. "But for the both of you to work, a compromise must be achieved. You cannot be full-heartedly evil, and neither can she be full-heartedly innocent. So long as you both _are_, it will never work." He sat down the drawing, and moved to the pool table.

Klaus stood and followed him, hands shoved in his jean pockets.

As his brother set up the game, Klaus spoke. "I don't know what more I can do-"

"You did kill Carol, and from what I gather, forced the Gilbert boy into being your hunter. Let's not make claims to purity yet."

"Details," Klaus muttered, then rolling his head. "Fine. But particularly in the last few months - with the exception of the Lockwood boy - I have compromised to some degree already; I have shown compassion…pity…forgiveness, all for her." He paused, his next words almost impacting his brother almost as much as they did he. It sounded almost like a defeat; as if he were breaking down a wall to share his 'secret'. "Everything human about me, _is her_, Elijah," he barely whispered.

The game was ready; but that wasn't why Elijah looked up. "I know," the elder brother replied, reaching for two cues, he handed one to Klaus. "Therefore," he deduced, leaning over the table, and positioning to strike. "You know the answer to your own question." He struck the white ball, and it collided with the rest.

Klaus exhaled slowly. "The next move has to come from her."

* * *

**I'm here for you, in the hiatus guys. I've got your back.  
**

******How was it? :) ****As many of you may have guessed from the new book cover, this will turn into an alternate "The Originals", where Caroline _will _cross over, obviously [and, no 'Klayley'] so...what do you think? Let me know! xx**


	12. Choice

_M____id-year exams over, _t_erm's just finished, and the _past month has really left no time [or the brains] for leisure writing, I'm sorry! There you have it; pathetic excuse for not uploading. I know, not good enough. Anyways in between holiday homework I really hope to be more consistent in my uploads for the next couple of weeks, so...yay? o.O

_(I edited this through twice, lost it both times [waste of a nights work, argh!] so I apologise for any typos!) Please R&R loves! xx  
_

* * *

**12. Choice**

* * *

_"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."_ - **Kurt Vonnegut**

Trudging from the library, Caroline avoided the parlour - which adjoined to the library. She stopped midway in the hall on the way to her bedroom, an involuntary shiver coursing through her body. _Stop it, _she chided herself. There was no one outside. She knew there wasn't.

But she couldn't be sure.

Yanking the curtain closed so roughly she almost tore it from its rings, Caroline rolled her shoulders, and then sped to her bedroom in a flash, tossing the book onto her bed, and whipping around the room, pulling the drapes closed there also.

But the doors at the far right of the room had no curtains.

A black, glossy window shared the reflection of a girl. _Her_.

But it _wasn'_t her; it was something else.

_Someone scared of their own shadow, _she thought, tasting the blood from her cheeks, pooling beneath the bite of her teeth. _ A _vampire_ scared of their own shadow._

She went to sit on the bed, and pack the newly clean clothes into her duffel bag. She reached for the book, to stow it away. From the corner of her eye, a blonde reflection ghosted her, frozen in its glassy prison.

She slid off the bed, and down its side, landing on her bottom. She pressed the book to her chest, and squeezed her eyes shut._ 'If you stay, Tyler Lockwood and Elena Gilbert won't be the only orphans in this town.'_

Rebekah's words rang in her head like a broken record.

_'I will give you two days grace'._

But they weren't tailing her - _yet. _They had only threatened to touch her mother if she didn't leave, and then her if she ran to Klaus. She still had time. Not much, but enough. She'd leave before dawn; around three in the morning.

Reaching for her phone, her heart throbbed with a different kind of fear; dread, in hoping that there would be no more threatening messages.

A godsend; there were none.

She set an alarm.

Closed her eyes.

Drifted.

**- TVD -**

_"We don't have long,"_ _a voice whispered - its presence universal, wavering on the wind around her._

_Caroline didn't know where she was. It was cold, dark, and all around water covered the ground and fell from the trees; she was in the aftermath of a rainstorm. She shivered uncomfortably, and realised that she was still in her pyjamas. Taking in her foreign surroundings the best she could, she discovered that she was in a cemetery. Though…it wasn't one overrun with gravestones; instead, crypts. It was someplace old. Really old._

_"Who are you?" Caroline called in a trembling voice. _

_Come a bit further and find out." It was a young woman's voice - but whose? "I won't bite." The girl smirked, voice still floating around._

___Caroline froze, eyes darting about her. _"Rebekah, I know it's you!" She snapped - jumping to conclusions. "Get out of my head."

_"I'm not Rebekah, and want nothing to do with her. It's _you _I want to talk to." The voice seemed to drop in volume. "And we have to do it quickly; I can't stay for much longer." An almost ghost-like apparition emerged from its cover behind a weepy willow._

_Caroline frowned. Wrapping her arms tightly around her ribcage, she tentatively took a step forward, but then halted._

_The girl wouldn't step out of the shadows._

_"Give me your hand," she whispered._

_"But I can't see you."_

_"Put out your palm," the girl pressed._

_Reluctantly, she did so, immediately snapped it back when the other struck out to grasp it._

_Another voice cut it. "Don't push her, Sophie."_

_"Jane-Anne, it's already too dangerous. They're going to get you. He's-"_

_"Like you said," the other girl interrupted. "We don't have much time. Continue." She turned to Caroline. "Come forward, Sweet-heart." _

_Caroline frowned, and clenched her sides more tightly. "I won't."_

_"Don't make this difficult," the younger girl - _Sophie_ - warned. "This doesn't have to be difficult." Something in her eyes made Caroline believe that 'difficult' alternatively stood for 'painful'._

_Caroline's own eyes widened in panic. She went to step backwards - but was immobilised. Her feet wouldn't move. Looking down, her chest heaved. Her eyes shot back to the girls. "What are you doing?" She demanded, tone hardening in agitation._

_"We can help you."_

_"I don't need your help."_

_Jane-Anne stepped forward. "Not yet," she cut in, "but you will soon."_

_"We need you to come to New Orleans," Sophie supported, "as leverage. We need Niklaus Mikaelson."_

_A strange form of protectiveness boiled in Caroline's stomach. "I don't know what you're doing, but I won't have any part in it - and neither will he."_

_"But that's the thing; you already do. More than you know. More than _he_ knows."_

_Caroline's eyes tightened in a glare._

_"Her conscience is fighting you," Sophie warned. "It's fighting you."_

_"And don't I know it," the other - Jane-Anne - snarled through her teeth. "Quickly, take my hand."_

_The girl complied._

_And then Caroline's __cried out in agony as_back wrenched, pulling her upwards - toes touching the ground, heels in the air. Wake up. Wake up!_ Her mind rambled in panic. She was being channelled. This was something psychic. Not a dream. The pain was too real. _

_She screamed._

_"Don't go, Caroline! Hold on," the girl pleaded desperately. "We still need you. It won't hurt for much longer. This is the only time we can-"_

_"Something's pulling her out - it's not just her mental strength anymore, it's-"_

_"_Someone_ is. It's _him_."_

_Caroline could feel consciousness lifting a fog from her eyes._

The dream was gone.

_But it was too late._ It still _hurt. _

Caroline gasped, eyes flying open as a pinching sensation targeted the centre of her back - _her spine -_ making her writhe in agony. "No, stop, stop," she cried. The pain tore through her whole torso, wracking her stomach. "Stop, please."

_His_ hands gripped her arms. "Caroline. _Caroline_ tell me what's going on-?"

"I don't know," she cried, hands clasping around his forearms, head bowing. "It hurts. Just make it stop, please. Klaus make it stop." Her hands left him, and she clutched her abdomen, gasping slightly for air between sobs.

"I can't," he answered quickly, eyes frantic. "I don't know what's happening, but Caroline listen to me-" his hands lifted to her neck, one near her shoulder, the other under her jaw. "Look at me," he coaxed, his urgency somewhat diminished. His voice was smooth - calm with reason. Her eyes locked with his, and he breathed deeply for a few moments, encouraging her to do the same. "It was just a dream." But it hadn't been. He knew that it hadn't been.

Then it stopped. Her eyes widened, disorientated, tears freezing in their place. She held her breath for a moment, silent, waiting for _it_ to come back.

Klaus gently took hold of one of her arms again, and tugged it - literally tugging her back into reality. She fell into his chest. The top of her head fit in beneath his jaw, and he rested his chin on it. She relaxed exhaustedly against him, heaving. He cradled her gently.

"It's okay," he murmured. "You're with me." His heart jumped nervously as a thought briefly entered his mind - and he acted on it. He shifted his chin from her head, enough so her could briefly press his lips against her hair. "You're safe," he whispered, closing his eyes in relief as he heard her heart rate settle.

Her fingers gripped and curled around the grey material of his tee-shirt, and she closed her eyes. "What happened?" Her voice cracked, thick with fear.

"Tell me what was in the dream."

Haunted by her nightmare, Caroline's reminiscing was brief and bitter. He watched her frown as segments of the dream darted across her mind. She didn't answer for a minute.

"It's okay," he then murmured. "You don't have to-"

"There were witches," she answered suddenly, cutting him off - although too absent-minded to realise she was doing so. Lost in a trance of thought, she continued in a monotonous voice, "It was in a graveyard. Old. It was cold. Wet. And they wanted me for…leverage. They said they needed me to get to…" She struggled, unsure whether she should continue.

"Who?" Klaus pressed, perplexed.

In his arms, her gaze darted up to his. "You," she breathed.

The cage of his body around her turned to stone - and then he slipped away from her, pacing her room.

Caroline swallowed a sob, sniffing. "K-Klaus?" He didn't answer. "I won't do it. I won't help them. You know that right?"

His head whipped to the side, so he could see her. Eyes glistening, disbelief darkened their dilated pupils. "What do they want to do, Caroline?" He demanded, tone hard, seemingly brushing past her pledge of loyalty.

"I don't know," she answered warily, aware of his ripe temper.

He hit the wall as he passed it, making her jump. "Witches," he muttered, and then walked over to her. "Where were you?"

"I don't know Klaus, it was just a dream-"

"It wasn't just a dream-"

"But you said it was!"

"It was a psychic attack. By _witches_." He blurred to her bedside. "But you can answer that for yourself," he said through his teeth. "How real was you pain?" He taunted. He reached out towards her, and before she realised what he was doing, his fingers swept underneath the back of her tee-shirt. He kneaded the centre of her spine.

Caroline winced; it hurt.

"See?" He proved, turning once more.

Dejected, Caroline fell back onto her heels, kneeling. "How did you know I was having a nightmare?"

"I heard you scream."

Caroline shuddered. "I screamed? But that was only in my dre-"

"You've never woken up in floods of tears before, after dreaming the death of a loved one?" He stepped towards her once more. "Ran a marathon in your sleep, and woken up feeling no more rested than you did when you closed your eyes?" He came to the edge of the bed, where her knees pressed against his torso. He reached out, rested his fingertips in a feather touch against her side. He leant closer, so his breath tickled her face. "Entertained your darkest desires, and woken with the surety that you actually experienced them?" She shivered beneath his touch. "Just because your eyes are closed, doesn't mean the rest of your body doesn't act in responsewhile you're asleep, Caroline. And if you were under a psychic influence, what makes you think if you could feel physical pain you wouldn't be able make a sound?" He allowed his fingers to trail from her spine to the back of her head. "If you had been awake, and hurt, you would have screamed. An attack from a witch is no different. It doesn't matter if you are sleeping, or fully conscious."

Much to his surprise, she closed her eyes, head falling back into his hand, which flattened into a palm for her.

"I need you to concentrate," he requested. "Where were you in the dream? Describe it to me."

She opened her eyes for a second. "You're going to find them, aren't you."

"And kill them, yes."

Guardedness iced over Caroline's eyes.

Klaus's fingers caressed the back of her skull, generating another shiver across her frame. "I'm only teasing," he murmured, with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "But if they hurt you again, I will."

Caroline's grew round, troubled. "I can't remember." She pressed the heel of her right palm to her forehead.

"Try," Klaus coaxed.

Caroline gripped her hair with the fingers of her hand, frowning. She was silent for a moment. "I don't know _where _it is, Klaus. I've never _seen _it before, I can't-"

"Hold on," he settled her, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I know what I need to do."

Caroline felt the gentle pressure of his hand pushing her backwards, and she submitted to it reluctantly, easing onto her backside. She stared up at him, eyes wide and unsure. "Klaus," she warned. Though she had been distressed and thus disorientated upon waking up - she wasn't a fool. As she further regained her consciousness, the walls went back up.

"It's not what you think," he swore, his hand moving to her cheek.

A telling flush flooded through her cheeks, and her pulse quickened. "Stop, Klaus, I'm serious," she said flatly. "Do-"

"Be quiet, love - or I'll compel you to be so." He leaned forward slightly. "I need you to relax" - she opened her mouth to protest, but her frowned -"I need you to fall asleep again; I can't get inside your head if you're not relaxed."

Caroline's chest rose with sudden fear; he couldn't get inside her head. If he did, then he would know it all.

Everything.

All the times that she had pretended to feel nothing, but had felt everything.

The way he made her feel - what he did to her. How he _affected_ her - and _just how much_ of an affect he had on her. The way he _effected_ her sense of reason, the way he made her question herself and believe in higher aspirations - and how that only made her admire him more.

If he got inside her head, she knew that he would see everything.

"I can't do that," she answered aloud.

"It's completely painless." He leant back a little, pausing. "And I don't want to compel you, Caroline."

"You may just have to."

His head tilted slightly and his eyes narrowed with interest. "Why?"

"I can't relax."

"Caroline, compulsion won't-"

She sat up in a flash. "I can't have you inside my head like that," she snapped, shoulders rising. She became suddenly aware that he hadn't moved when she had risen, and how little apart they were.

Klaus acknowledged this, and didn't care. He decided to push - playing with fire. He leaned in further still, until their noses were an inch or so apart. "Why don't you want me to get inside your head?" He hummed huskily.

A ripple of desire ached through Caroline's lower abdomen, and she bit her cheek.

"Scared I'll see something I won't like?" He taunted.

"Compel me," Caroline said suddenly. Begged. Ordered.

Klaus couldn't be sure which way she had intentionally said it, but he couldn't reckon with her.

"I haven't consumed vervain in the past twenty-four hours and am not wearing it," she reasoned quickly.

He couldn't curb the internal questions that probed him; there was something she _really _didn't want him to know. "Are you sure this is what you want?" He whispered, taken aback at her words as regret twisted in his gut; shamelessly, he'd wanted to know what she was thinking. What she was hiding; he wanted to know if all those times when he had thought of her, she had been thinking of him too. Desperate, or perhaps out of loneliness…he couldn't deny the desire to just _know._

Caroline nodded surely, lips drawing in a tight line.

Klaus let out a slow breath, taking her shoulders in his hands. His iris' dilated and shrunk, capturing her in his spell. "I need you to tell me everything you remember about that dream. I need you to describe where you were." A hand of his slid to the base of her neck. "Close your eyes, and let your conscience tell you." The hand trailed up her neck, and carefully caressed the back of it."You will remember. Will you do this for me?"

"I remember," Caroline murmured mechanically. "I can do this for you." Her eyes drifted closed, and her forehead creased in concentration.

Klaus felt a pang of regret, realising that this was the first time he had ever compelled her. And he hated it. It would certainly be the last.

Disjointed, and at times unclear, Caroline described the graveyard to him. It's crypts. The sort of trees. The details came more easily to her - but when she focussed for too long, her frightened subconscious would block her thoughts, fearing another psychic attack.

But he had had enough.

Amidst her talking, the blood had drained from her face. The concentration had dissipated. The caresses on her neck had died, and his hands had slipped to his sides. Klaus looked as though he'd seen a ghost.

"Klaus?" Caroline murmured, falling from his compulsion when he diverted. Her brow furrowed when he didn't respond. "Klaus." She reached out to him, just as he moved away, muttering something. "Where is it?" She asked.

His fingers curled, clenching into fists. "New Orléans."

**- TVD -**

A branch slammed against the window, screeching against the glass sickeningly. Caroline didn't move at the sound, every cell directed towards anticipating Klaus' next move. She could practically see the waves of anger rolling off him - she certainly _felt _them.

The past half an hour had been torture.

At first, Klaus had paced, and then at Caroline's protestations had explained to her through gritted teeth his connection to New Orléans. Since he had finished, an uneasy silence had settled between them.

Though Caroline wouldn't admit it, his obvious distress unnerved her emotionally.

"I'm going," he said lowly, breaking the silence.

"Klaus, that's what they'll want," she reasoned desperately. "They _want_ you to go to New Orléans. You'll be walking straight into a trap."

But he wasn't listening to her. "Don't you need to get out of town?" He reminded her. "With a mark on your mother's head and all…"

Caroline's eyes darted to the small clock on the bedside table: it was nearly two in the morning. If she hadn't had her nightmare, she would have been preparing to leave at that moment. Or close to it.

As if in confirmation, the screen on her phone lit up, and it vibrated with her alarm.

"I thought so," he muttered.

"Not like this," she said, catching him by surprise. "You make it sound as if we'd be running away for good - and I refuse to hide away like a coward forever."

"I don't think you have a choice."

"Well I won't do it. There are other options-"

"Why not?"

Her nails dug into her palms. "Because I have _family_, I have friends, I have school - priorities, Klaus. Responsibilities-"

"You're immortal; you can finish school a thousand times over if you wish - at schools a thousand times more prestigious than _Mystic Falls Highschool._ I don't understand why you believe Mystic Falls is the one and only way." His fingers tightened on her arms. "You have _time. _I can get you wherever you want. We can go anywhere."

"But we're not just going anywhere - we're going to New Orléans and walking straight into a death trap." She folded her arms across her chest, face tight with sarcasm. "I admire your ability to make light of and lie about something so grim-"

"Come on, Caroline that's a little-"

"A 'little' _what_? Dramatic?"

"Yes."

"No. I saw you freak out. There's something else going on here, and I don't want to be a part of it-"

"But they want you."

Caroline massaged her temples. "Klaus, I need to leave this town before your sister and my ex kill all the family I have left. Granted. Do I need to walk straight in complications and captivity - avoid one danger, by entering another? No." She tucked her hair behind her ears, swallowing. "Leaving his already hard enough. There's only so much I can take, and constantly fighting for my life or my freedom-"

"Love, so long as you're with me, I'll protect you. You won't be fighting for your life, or freedom-"

"But that's just it! I can't _be _with _you_ either. Kol or Tyler will find me, and my mom will die anyway. Your sisters afraid that if I meet up with you, we'll join forces and then everyone else - namely Bonnie, Stefan, Elena...Damon - will all back you, because they back me. And then we'll never give her the cure."

Klaus seemed somewhat impressed. "Not a bad idea actually-"

"_Klaus!"_

"Except I want nothing to do with the cure anymore," he continued, as if she hadn't spoken. "Ergo, Rebekah won't kill your mother-"

"Have you been paying attention to anything that's happened? Me nearly _dying? _I think she's pretty serious, Klaus. Your sister doesn't bluff; exhibit 'A' - Elena Gilbert."

"Caroline-"

"She called me," Caroline answered very bluntly, articulating her words particularly sharply. "Before. And she made it pretty clear I didn't have a choice."

Klaus froze.

"One last warning, Klaus," Caroline continued shakily. "She wants me gone; out of the picture." Her fingers dug into her sides. "I have to go; that's a given. But that in itself is already hard enough. How am I possibly helping myself by running head-on into more strife? Not to mention with you! Hear me; it can't happen."

"No, hear _me._ If I'm off chasing something else, Rebekah gets the cure all to herself. She won't have any reason to chase me." He reasoned. "She's my sister, Caroline. Contrary to popular belief, I know how she operates. And New Orleans? You'll be safe with me. Like I said, I'm the king. We'd just be getting to the bottom of this-"

"You. You. _You'll _be safe. Klaus, your sister was pretty specific; I _go _with you, Kol and Tyler find me, I die. I _stay_, my mom dies." Her hands dropped. "There's only one solution, but you're just too scared to admit it."

"I'm too scared? Love, you're the one who keeps on making excuses."

"I'm not making excuses, I'm facing reality-"

"Which is why you're hiding away in my house."

"I'm not hiding."

"Then why aren't you home right now?"

"You're such an asshole."

"I'm just looking out for you."

"Well I don't need you to!" She yelled. "I can look out for myself." She paused, face hardening. "I'm going on my own," she added with finality.

"You can't."

"I can."

"You won't survive."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"You can't do it."

"Who are you, my father?"

"No, he's dead."

Caroline's eyes filled with tears at his thoughtless response.

"What?" Klaus demanded bitterly. "I thought you were intent on facing reality."

She struck him, chest heaving. The snap of her hand against his cheek bounced between their bodies, teasing the invisible energy that vibrated between them.

He should have been used to it; she hit him a fair bit as it was - as of late - and he always took it.

But only because he deserved it. And he knew that.

"You don't _need _me to come with you, and what even makes you think I'd want to?"

"Your feelings for me." _There, _he thought, _you said it. _He braced himself for another slap.

"Don't flatter yourself."

"You didn't want me to see into your head. Afraid of something, were you?" He stepped forward. "The truth?" Another step. "Afraid that I would see through your façade?"

"You only want me to go with you because you're in love with me!" Caroline yelled, breaking in a desperate attempt at a defence. "Because you can't _live _without me, for crying out loud-"

"Don't throw around my feelings as if they mean nothing," Klaus answered in a snarl, which visibly set her back. "_You_ had the dream," he snapped. "Not me. I'm just trying to figure this out. You're my best shot at doing so."

"If I go off on my own, I go off the grid. You'd never be able to find me again," Caroline tried to reply confidently. "Could you be more obvious?"

"I wouldn't underestimate my resourcefulness, love."

Her cheeks tightened as she processed his words. She knew that he was right; after all, he had found Elena.

But he hadn't found Katherine; not for five hundred years, anyway. It was possible.

New Orleans was near enough to the coast. It undoubtedly had an airport.

She took a long moment before answering through her teeth ruefully, "I couldn't even if I tried." She went to turn towards her bag.

"What are you doing?"

"I've made my choice."

He gripped her back, restricting her escape. "What will it be? Solo, or hand in hand?"

"I don't think I have a choice," she muttered.

It was then, that he saw the fear that so often lived in her eyes. But it wasn't for her life; it was for the unknown.

He let go.

She had given him her answer.

* * *

_Thank you for your response/follows and favourites so far - I was incredibly stressed this term, and coming home to find a mailbox full of them really lifted my spirits. I'm so sorry I've loss track of who I've emailed a thank you response or just ran out of time, so thank you to all that made the effort to do so xx I'll be back to emailing for this one! Please drop in a review if you have the time, because they really urge me to write faster, and as always, you know I'll do my best to get the next chapter up as soon as I can! Lots of love x  
_

_- ALSO - thinking of adding Elijah and Stefan to the character list with the story description [spoilers] in preparation for future chapters/storyline. Yay or nay? -  
_


	13. Departure

___**JULY 2013: Now rated M as a precaution for future chapters, after [spoiler] mapping out where I'm going to go with this story...  
**_

_____Thank you so much for your feedback last chapter! I tried to get this up as quickly as I could - it was supposed to be up a week ago but things have been kinda crazy busy, so sorry about that! Enjoy :) please R&R_

* * *

**13. Departure**

* * *

"_Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -_

_I took the one less traveled by,_

_And that has made all the difference." _

- Robert Frost

Elijah rolled his suitcase to its stop, and blew out a lungful into the night air. "I can't say I'm not thrilled about leaving," he greeted his brother in an exhale. "Mystic Falls holds no…particular _allure. _A little dreary and monotonous, don't you agree, brother?" He paused very briefly, waiting for a reply. He received none; Klaus discretely watched Caroline through the car window.

Klaus felt his brother's probing stare - having ignored his words - and gave in. His gaze flickered across to his brother's person. "You didn't have to come, you know." _I can hardly bond with her if you're monitoring my every move, and cautioning Caroline at ever corner, _he thought agitatedly.

Elijah shook his head. "And leave Caroline in your emotionally turbulent hands?" He rolled his shoulders, eyes growing narrow, serious. "If something goes wrong, there needs to be a…_calming _voice of reason." He slid his hands into the pockets of his black woollen jacket.

Klaus stared up at the night sky. "You'll have turned her on me before we know it."

"That's not why I'm here," Elijah contradicted him in a hard tone. "You are my family, Niklaus. I have no doubt that you intend to one day..._extend_ that to Caroline. Therefore, I am here in the best interest of the family." He exhaled sharply. "Call it an investment in the future of our relationship, or yours." He shrugged. "What ever contents you."

The truth of his brother's words could not be contested. Klaus felt the genuineness of them settle strangely within him.

The buzz of an electric window interrupted a brewing silence between the two. Caroline's head poked out the backseat window, face bloodless and drawn. "Are we leaving yet?"

Both men nodded simultaneously.

Elijah lifted his case into the car, and patted his brother's shoulder. He lowered his voice - too low for Caroline to pick up. "You're walking into a trap, and I can't let you do it alone." He slipped into the driver's seat.

**- TVD -**

"You have ten minutes," Klaus murmured. "Say your goodbyes, love." He wanted to offer to come in with her, but he knew how that would be; awkward, and too pressurised. She needed to do this on her own, and he admittedly feared getting in the way and making things worse.

Caroline's trembling hand found her front door, and with a struggle she managed to unlock it. She inhaled upon stepping inside, archiving the scent of her home. _It's not for forever, _she told herself. _Just until I find a way to come home. Safely. _Entering her bedroom, she moved straight to her wardrobe and threw it open, pulling her large grey suitcase from its retirement on the top shelf. Brushing off the dust and unzipping it, Caroline went to her chest of draws, and took out a bundle of underwear and bras, dropping them in. Next she took two pairs of jeans; one white, the other dark navy - with the addition of a few t-shirts. A pair of denim shorts. A pair of leggings. Socks.

Eying her wardrobe of full coat hangers, Caroline decided on a simple black cocktail dress and threw in some jewellery; earrings, necklaces, her makeup bag and favourite _Ralph Lauren_ perfume. She then slid on her black woollen coat, and peach coloured scarf.

"_What am I missing_?" She murmured aloud to herself.

Her eyes caught her neat rows of shoes. A pair of thongs, flats and her favourite wedges [that tied like a ribbon at the ankle] - joined the rest of her belongings. From the draw of her bedside table, she took her wallet and iPod. She paused when she saw a photograph protruding from the pages of a book within the same compartment. She took it in her hand.

It was Elena, Bonnie, Matt and herself at the beginning of Freshman year.

Caroline tucked the photo away in her jacket pocket.

She zipped up the case, and with a sad glance about her room, swallowed and tugged her suitcase with her, closing the door. Setting her belongings by the front entrance, Caroline flashed to her mother's bedroom, and moved to her closet as quietly as she could. Beneath a cardboard box was a trapdoor that housed a safe. Caroline entered the combination, and from it took her passport, and a wad of cash - left to her by her father. She shoved them in her pockets. There was more, but a grand would have to suffice. She _was_ going with the Mikaelson's after all; without assuming to be overly confident, she knew that she would be taken care of, until she split off. Closing the safe and replacing the box, Caroline took with her the acquired belongs, and went to her mother's bedside.

Liz slept with a plastered frown across her face, troubled by her subconscious.

Caroline bent down and pressed her lips to her hair. "I love you mom," she whispered. On her mother's bedside table was a pen, and the current novel she was reading. Caroline took the pen in her hand, and flipped to the title page of the book.

_I'll call you from the road, _she wrote above the title print. _Please don't worry about me. I'll be safe. Take care of yourself. Love C. _

Adding the date, then tagging the page and sparing her mother one last glance, Caroline blurred from the room, swept up her things and rushed out the door before the first tear could fall. Klaus caught her arm as she went to retrieve the key from her pants and lock up the house once more.

"Hey," he murmured, eyes soft with sympathy. "Are you alright, love?"

Caroline's shoulders slouched, and her eyes filled. "No," she answered honestly, hopelessly. "But I'll…be okay."

His hand dropped from her arm, and slipped into her back jean pocket. Retrieving the key, and maintaining a smooth composure as she regarded him with mixed emotions, he locked the door. Klaus nodded towards the car, which simultaneously revved to life, Elijah behind its wheel.

**- TVD -**

Caroline watched Klaus' retreating frame to the roaring plane with a twist in her gut, and a rising pulse. She'd been seriously entertaining the thought of splitting off, of _'pulling a Katherine' _as she had later decided it was. But at that moment, the reality of the waiting plane beyond the walls of the building she stood within, frightened her. If leaving with two of the strongest beings on the planet - with whom she would, in most cases, be safe with - frightened her, how could she last on her own?

_Katherine did, _her adrenalised mind buzzed. But then her heart fell. _By becoming a psychotic heartless bitch. Way to go, Caroline. Fantastic idea. As per usual._

"He's not happy about the three-o'clock wake-up call," Elijah cut through her thoughts, strolling to her stride. When Caroline still didn't respond to his question, nor turn to him, he added in clarification after her few moments of silence, "Marco…not Klaus. Although he has done much worse than this, though I suppose. Plenty of round-the-globe trips on a moment's notice. Our family has never been one to-" He halted mid sentence, upon hearing Caroline snivel very quietly. He stood before her in a flash, hands on her arms. "Caroline, it's all right."

"I shouldn't be here." Caroline shook her head. "This was a mistake…I c-can't do this." She pulled away, heading for the front door of the building. She pressed a trembling fist to her mouth. "I can't _leave_ my _mom_. I mean she has no idea what's going on, and this will mean I can't graduate, and my friends-"

"Caroline." Elijah grabbed her gently, impeding her escape. Turning her in his arms towards the runway, they then halted.

She fixated on his eyes. "I'm not ready to do this; to pack up and leave. This wasn't supposed to happen yet, and - _no offence_, sure as hell wasn't supposed to happen with _you two_."

"None taken; I understand that you're conflicted," he sympathised. "I understand that this is huge, but you really need to stop trying to deal with it all at once. You're only 'freaking yourself out', as I believe you would phrase it." He paused when Caroline laughed once, in spite of herself. "You need to take this one day at a time," he then continued. "It's not as if you're never going to see your friends, or you mother, your new step-brother and sister again. You _will _graduate. But right now - bluntly, truthfully, there is a threat that is imminent - and as soon as it's dealt with you can come home to everything. Graduate. But for now, we could really use your help dealing with it."

Caroline eyed Elijah warily. "Threat as in '_Rebekah, Tyler and Kol'_ threat, or _'crazy New Orleans witches' _threat?"

Elijah pulled a face. "Mm...," he grimaced, visibly weighing it up. "Both."

"Ha," she answered dryly. "Well I'm not anything remarkable, so-"

"You are, in a different sense to what I believe you're seemingly referring to. But whether you like it or not, you're neck-deep in both problems. As soon as we can extinguish one, and disentangle you from the other, then by all means - come home."

Caroline herself grimaced. "God. I knew that he didn't just want to protect me."

"Klaus has never done anything that hasn't somewhat served himself in some way, but…" Elijah looked to the tarmac. "I believe in this instance, what he'll do in the days or weeks to come, will be for you." He looked back to her. "Know that."

"What if he…" She trailed off, conscious that the man himself could be in earshot. "If something happens, and he gets angry…" she continued in a low tone, looking to and from Elijah and the plane too. "Too angry?"

"You think he would cast you out? Kill you?" Elijah shook his head. "Stop concocting the worse possible outcome. You're not alone in this," he assured her, hand rubbing her shoulder. "I won't let him hurt you. I know that it's hard: you're young. And certainly naive - whether you refuse to believe that or not. It's going to take some time to adjust, but right now you need to stop making excuses, and just accept what's going on. I'll be by you every step of the way, if it helps."

Caroline huffed despondently, despite Elijah's words of encouragement.

He tried again. "Consider me to be the brother you never had, the confidant you've been missing…and the steady arm to lean on when you're homesick."

Caroline smiled sadly. "Why are you doing this?" When he frowned, she elaborated with, "Intent on helping me?"

Elijah's face grew sincere. "Because…I have the feeling you're just what we need; the key to unlocking our cold family from estrangement," he answered in a thin tone, eyes on the plane past Caroline's shoulder."You've unconsciously worked your way into Klaus' heart, and earned the respect of mine. And…Rebekah - although she's willing to go to any means necessary to ensure she gets the cure and her brother doesn't…she admires you. She's jealous of what you have, and therefore doesn't seem to know any better than try and take that from you, but I believe, in another time - a better time - you could have been friends. Easily. You just happen to unfortunately be a complication in her line of hurdles towards happiness. She probably didn't think that Tyler would take it so seriously."

Caroline let out a long breath, ignoring the stab of pain brought on by the remembrance of Tyler's betrayal. "What, so you're defending her now?"

"Not defending; reasoning. Just listen."

Caroline rolled her shoulders, and then suddenly chuckled. "Well Kol doesn't like me. I don't see how I'm doing any saving there."

The grimace returned to Elijah's face. "He finds you attractive - he always has - and again, it's just unfortunate you got caught in one of his childish opportunities for a game. Otherwise I have no doubt Klaus would be even more protective about you than he already is."

"God."Caroline shook her head, embarrassed. "_Why_?"

Elijah pressed an index finger to her sternum. "Because whatever is in there, is something full of light, and pure. It's good for everyone, and everyone either _want_s it, envies it, or accepts it and blossoms in its presence. And you may not have super strength, or centuries of life experience, but what ever that" - he gently poked her chest again - "is; it's something 'remarkable' on it's own. And it'll get you through this."

"I'm not all that you think I am." She sighed. "Most likely less, if my week of emotional break-downs and caves under pressure are any proof."

"I think the one person capable of making my brother's cold heart beat is everything and more than I think she is."

"You're giving me a lot to live up to, here," Caroline answered in a nervous laugh, though she was genuinely touched. The whole time she had spoken, she had been - however, too constricted by the fear of their dawning departure, she hadn't known how to respond.

He shrugged nonchalantly, but then turned serious. "Look, the bottom line is that no matter what happens, I will look out for you. You have no reason to feel uneasy - other than the few obvious reasons, which we will deal with."

Caroline was humbled with gratitude. "Th-thank you."

He smiled gently. "Let's get these bags." He stooped to pick them up.

Klaus strode back to them, jaw clenched, eyes narrowed.

""It's only been a millennium; the plane is waiting." His eyes flickered between the two. "Talking about me were we?" He surmised evenly.

"You, and the universe, brother." Elijah patted his sibling's chest, straightened the collar of his suit, and entered onto the tarmac, Caroline's case and duffel in tow.

The owner of the case looked to Klaus and frowned.

He put his hands up. "What?"

"Just because two people talk doesn't mean they're plotting your death." The furrowed brows disappeared, and she shook her head.

He opened the door for her, and they too stepped out onto the tarmac. "I can never be sure," Klaus answered with a hint of cheek, "how do I not know that you've devised some master plot and intend to drop me to my death at altitude?"

Caroline chuckled, and as they walked in stride with one another she responded with, "Because nothing can kill you. We couldn't if we tried." She hoped that he didn't noticed the way her knees shook with every centimetre they drew closer to the plane.

"_If_? Do you mean to try?"

Without thinking, Caroline leant in towards his ear - still walking. "If I really meant to do anything, you wouldn't see it coming," she teased through her teeth, leaning away quickly as the irony of her own words hit her. She pushed ahead of him, and reached for the first step as she arrived at the plane.

"Is that a statement?" Klaus called from behind her.

"No." She turned her head slightly, heart jumping. "A promise."

His eyes narrowed, and, cocking his head to the side in amusement, he followed her up the stairs, respectively trying to avoid admiring her long legs and physique as she stepped up in front of him.

From his seat by the window in the plane, Elijah watched this exchange with a smirk, contentment settling in his features.

Caroline would be okay.

He only wished he could be so sure about his brother.

**- TVD - **

**| New Orleans, 1900 |**

"Don't be pathetic!" The metal dagger dirtied with white ash, waiting in Klaus' pocket, suddenly felt much heavier. He could feel his hand itching towards the pocket. _Patience, _he coached himself.

"I will cower no longer, Niklaus; _that _is what is pathetic," Kol sneered. "Every time, he tears the ground up from beneath our feet. Every time, we must run. _Every. Single. _Time. I will do it no longer; it has gone on long enough!"

Klaus rolled his head, exasperated. "It is easy enough for you to speak of such _courageous _hopes of facing him, when it is because of you that he has found us!" Klaus felt his face tighten as he continued with, "All because you could neither reign in your thirst for indiscretion nor choose a tight-lipped lover, you incessant fool!"

"He has chased us for nearly a millennium; forgive me for seeking some form of freedom and morality in avenging the deaths of those unfortunate vampires," Kol snapped, spreading his hands as he elaborated, "I mean to free us all, not to merely satisfy my own rage. This is past that, now."

But Klaus - all too wiser - was not convinced. "He killed your lover, brother - you should neither assume us to be fools or pretend to be honourable; spare us the facade, in the least." His hand itched towards the weapon in his pocket. "Any fool could see that you're just spoiling for a fight."

Kol gripped Klaus by the lapels of his shirt, exposed by the truth of his brother's words. "You would not know passion if it blatantly assaulted you, you lonely bastard! Do not mistaken my thirst for vengeance as the actions of a love-sick fool! I mean to end the distraught and lack of happiness that man has brought us." He let go of Klaus, shoving him away. "If my own family will not help me seize the weapon in Mikael's possession I have the hundreds who mourn for the loss of their loved immortal ones who will." Kol turned. "Your fear is what cripples you, Niklaus. You're pathetic."

_Now._

Klaus seized the dagger and lurched forward on his brother, forcing the wrought metal through the black layer of Kol's vest, cringing as it pierced the skin and internal flesh, silencing his heart. When the body grew limp in his hands, Klaus lowered it to the floor with a thick throat.

He was thankful Kol's face stared at the floor; his humanity rebelled against the thought of coming to terms with what he had just done.

"What is the meaning of this?" Elijah's breathless voice called from the doorway in front.

Klaus' eyes lifted. "He was going to face Mikael, despite exposing us to him in the first place," he replied numbly. "I did what I had to do."

At that moment, younger vampires preceded behind Elijah, and made for the cases.

"To the launching docks," Klaus ordered them.

Elijah stared sadly at the greyed body of their brother. "You didn't have to dagger him." Crestfallen.

Klaus watched his trunks disappear through the door. "He exposed us. A small price to pay; I could have let him face the wrath of our father - which you know would have eventuated in his own death. But I didn't." Klaus pulled on his thick woollen coat. "Daggering him was the most logical solution."

Elijah closed his eyes, exhaling with distraught. "Where to now?"

Klaus reached for his riding crop and top hat from there place on the table. "Europe."

Two of Klaus' men returned, bearing a coffin.

Elijah's eyes followed its entry. "You really planned this, didn't you?"

Klaus' mouth drew in a thin line. "I did what had to be done," he repeated. "Kol is reckless and tempestuous. We could have had no hope of disappearing once more if he roamed the earth."

"What do you plan to do with him?"

"Bury him, or throw the coffin in the ocean." Klaus shrugged. "Something poetic." He moved towards the door, and as he did, laid a hand on Elijah's shoulder. "He betrayed us all." He paused for effect. "Do not see my actions as unjust, brother. There had to be a consequence for _his_ actions."

Elijah watched him leave with a heavy sadness in his eyes.

Klaus had just stepped through the doorway, when he realised Elijah wasn't following him. "The boat launches in just under half an hour, brother. We need to leave. Now." He turned, and lifted a foot to step.

"I'm not going with you."

Klaus halted once more, head turning slightly - and very slowly. "Wh_at_?" He hissed.

"I'm not going with you. I can't _be _around you. I don't _want _to be around you; what if you grow tired of my ways?" Elijah defended himself coldly. "Decide to dagger me, and leave me thus for a century?"

Klaus rolled his shoulders. "You over-estimate me; a decade, at most, for you." His humour fell short, and reciprocated.

Elijah wasn't phased. Nor moved. He stood still, eyes still sporting the same cold, stillness. His next two words were evidently not what his younger brother expected to hear from him. "Goodbye, Niklaus."

Anger flared in the blonde brother's eyes, and his fingers curled, knuckles whitening.

But Elijah ignored him, instead staring down on the body of their little brother. "Go on; the boat launches in just under half an hour."

Klaus glared. "I will not leave his body alone, only to be undaggered." He motioned for his men to hasten with putting the body in the casket.

Elijah scoffed quietly. "You do not trust me?"

"As much as you trust me."

"Then we are neither wiser than each other." His wryness developed into a cold, scrutinising stare. "You would rather cart the coffin around with you, to prevent me from doing so, even if I were to do it somewhere far from here?"

Something flared in Klaus' eyes. "Kol cannot be controlled, and you are not to be trusted. Your faith is hopeless; desperate. It will be the end of you, you mark my worlds."

Elijah moved towards the door, soul withered. "Just as your incapability to trust and love will be the end of you," he declared softly, over his shoulder. "Enjoy your eternity alone, brother."

With that, he left.

**-TVD -**

**| En route to New Orleans, **

**Present Day |**

"Hot towel?"

"Thank you Annabel." Klaus accepted the towel and pressed it to his face.

"I'll be serving breakfast in ten minutes. Should I wake Miss Caroline?"

Elijah looked up from his newspaper.

Klaus's hand dropped slowly. "No, I'll do it." He set the towel back on the tray, and reached for a clean one. Pushing back the curtain, and closing it behind himself, he moved to the long lounge where Caroline slept. His soul softened at the image of her slumbering person - the way her face nestled into the cushion, and her fingers curled around it. He sat by her tummy and reached out to touch her cheek, but hesitated mid-air, before decidedly stroking back a thick lock of blonde hair from her face. His whole body warmed when his fingers brushed her skin. She stirred, a slight frown wrestling on her features.

Her eyes fluttered open - at first, they were disorientated, second - confused. "Are we there yet?" She murmured, voice pitching as it broke through sleep.

"Almost," Klaus responded, heart lifting at the way the alluring huskiness of her voice rung in his ears. "Here." He handed her the towel, which she ran across her face.

"Ugh," she moaned, staring at the white washcloth.

"What?"

"I'm not wearing any make-up."

His immediate amusement clouded when he realised how annoyed she was. "You're beautiful without it." He felt his cheeks immediately burn. _You're a thousand years old and you still don't know a bloody thing about women, do you? _He internally scolded himself.

Caroline rolled her eyes, and sat up slowly - immediately regretting brushing off his effort to cheer her up, when his face fell. _No, _she thought quickly when she felt her reaction-. _Don't do that. Don't sympathise._

"Breakfast is nearly ready," Klaus said quickly, filling the silence before it became too uncomfortable. "You can have it up at the table with Elijah and I, or Annabel can bring it to you." Klaus stood. "You know where to find us if you need anything." He moved slowly towards the gap in the curtains.

Caroline paused, addled by his diffidence. "...Okay," she mumbled in delayed response as he exited. Reaching for her boots, she slipped them on an stretched. Caroline had only slept for a little, but her head felt weighted on her shoulders, as if she had been out for hours. When she stood, she swayed and grabbed onto the curtain divider for support.

He was at her side quickly, hands firmly around her forearms. "Woah," he chuckled softly, but once again, fell serious. "You alright, love?"

"I'm fine," she muttered in answer, pulling her hand from his grasp.

"Caroline, vampire's don't exactly faint. Allow me to be concerned, please."

Her eyes drifted from the floor to his imploring eyes.

"Did the witches make contact with you again?" He pressed. "In your sleep?"

She looked to the side, and shook her head, brows furrowed. "No," she answered slowly. "I…need something to drink, please. I haven't had blood in-"

"Of course." He turned and whisked away towards the kitchenette.

Exhaling, she followed his path, slowly moving through the opening.

Elijah sat down his newspaper. "Niklaus told me of your episode with the witches before, and I couldn't help overhearing-"

"I'm fine," she repeated, waving off his concern with a hand. "Honestly I think it's just exhaustion." The was an empty armchair beside him - and although she suspected it was Klaus', took the seat when Elijah gestured for her to do so. "I'm surprised I didn't wake you up last night when it happened."

He shrugged. "I'm on the other side of the house, and by the time I had woken, you were no longer screaming." His eyes drifted to the oval window by his elbow.

"You'd think I wouldn't get disturbed so easily," she tried to brush it off lightly. "You know, being an immortal vampire, and all." She chuckled, but it fell when Elijah's eyes flashed back to hers.

"Anyone can have nightmares," he barely whispered, making Caroline wonder what his double meaning was.

**-TVD -**

The jet began its decent half an hour after Caroline had joined the men. When the plane tilted slightly to the right, beginning a slow and steady turn, Caroline pressed her face up against her window. They broke through the cloud bank, and everything began to come into view; a canvas of glowing colour on a black map. As they neared the ground, the plane left the land, passing over water, and a sudden bump signaled that the landing gear was released.

They seemed to lower so closely to the water from there that Caroline feared they might almost drop in, missing the runway all together.

But they didn't.

"Woah!" She gasped when the aircraft's wheels kissed the tarmac, and then lowered fully, ending with a mild rumble. She smiled at the sensation of the plane smoothly gliding against its surface as if it were merging with it. Marco applied the breaks, and gradually the aircraft seemed to retract as it slowed from its high speed. "That's the best landing I've ever had," she bubbled, looking up to Elijah and Klaus, but then flushing in embarrassment when she realised how immature she probably sounded to them. She directed her gaze out the window.

At that moment the pilot himself spoke through a set of speakers. "_Ladies_ and gentlemen we have arrived at the Lakefront Airport - please remain seated until we have reached the hangar, and refrain from turning on any electronic items until you're off the tarmac, as there are planes refuelling and quite possibly this one will be too." There was a moment of silence as the plane was directed to a section of the airport reserved for smaller, private or chartered planes, and then Marco added, "Welcome to New Orleans," slightly wryly, before cutting off.

When the aircraft finally stopped, Elijah and Klaus stood and collected their luggage - and went to reach for Caroline's, but she beat them to it.

"Let me take it," Klaus almost ordered as the iron stairs were connected to their plane.

She shook her head. "I have arms and legs, yes?"

"_Caroline_."

The door opened, and Elijah stepped out first. Klaus allowed Caroline through first, and then followed.

"Enjoying the view?" She joked dryly when she reached the bottom, adjusting her bags on her shoulders so she could roll her suitcase more easily.

He reached the tarmac. "Love, let me take your case."

She fell into step behind Elijah once more. "Don't baby me," she called over her shoulder. "I swear to God I hate it."

In front, Elijah smirked.

Klaus rolled is eyes exasperatedly

It wasn't going to be easy.

_Winning her love, or teaching her tolerate you? _His mind probed.

The answer was simple.

_Both._

* * *

_Next chapter it all starts... ;)_

_I'll update asap. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on the chapter if you have the time!  
Thank you for reading loves xx  
_


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